Casting Shadows
by Agent08
Summary: Trying to defeat a dark magician? That's hard. Trying to defeat that same dark magician with the ex-boyfriend that broke your heart? That's harder. SyaoranxSakura.
1. Sunset

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own CCS, or any of its wonderful characters. The plot is all mine, however part of the plot is based off the original CCS anime series and first movie (which I suggest you watch before reading my story).

Full Summary: Trying to defeat a dark magician? That's hard. Trying to defeat that same dark magician with the ex-boyfriend that broke your heart? That's harder. SyaoranxSakura.

Now… on with the story!

**Casting Shadows**

_Sunset_

Li Syaoran stood, front and center, in the dark, dingy room that was the headquarters of the Li Clan elders. Actually, the entire building was their headquarters, but the room that he was in was the one they often used for any old reason – like for meetings, for appointments, for meals… and for humiliating him.

He couldn't remember how many times they asked him to come to them, all so they could berate him. To have him be shamed while his family stood in the dark confines of the room as they told him he wasn't training hard enough, or that his grades were inadequate, or that his magic wasn't as highly developed as it should've been.

He hated that room and that spotlight that shone directly upon him, highlighting everything about him, bare for all twelve of the Li Clan elders to judge. His dark brown hair, his golden eyes and hard facial features were even fair game. In that room, he was completely vulnerable.

The last time he was there, they gave him the worst tongue-lashing he'd ever experienced. Not even his own mother had scolded him the way they had. It was after they found out that he had not passed the Final Judgment with Yue, and that after all "their" hard work (though really, they'd done nothing, while he'd nearly broken his back in trying to capture Clow Cards), he had not become their one, true master.

That was some years ago. He didn't return to them, swearing he wouldn't come back to the part of his family that recognized all that he was not, instead of all that he was. But there was no avoiding them now. At seventeen years old, they forced him to return, so that they could give to him their cruelest lecture yet.

"You can't possibly be _with _her," the elder in the middle of the long, wide table spat. The twelve of them were all seated, dressed in their traditional Chinese robes of green, gold and black, staring down at him with disparaging eyes.

He didn't respond. Nothing he could say would make them feel better about the situation at hand – unless he denied the claim. And he wouldn't deny it – not if they shook or roughhoused him to his very last breath.

They all shook their heads when still no response came from his lips. "This is unacceptable. You know we cannot tolerate this."

Then, suddenly, in a fit of anger that he could no longer contain, Syaoran spat, "Well you don't have to tolerate it. She has nothing to do with you or anyone else in the family. I don't need you to be okay with it."

"Xiao-lang!" the same elder exclaimed, shocked by his audacity. Syaoran normally would never give any kind of back talk. This unusual change in character all of the elders immediately credited to his romantic love interest.

He gave them a glare that had more heat than their own, more anger and tons of hatred. He didn't care what they reprimanded him about – whether it was his grades, his magic or his fighting skills – they would not chastise him about this. Not about her. He would not allow it.

He turned around to leave them.

"Stay where you are, Xiao-lang," the elder hissed, using his Chinese name once more. "You do _not _speak to us like that. You forget your place. We are your elders. Show us respect."

Syaoran glanced over his shoulder to steal a peek at his mother. She, as well as his faithful friend and servant, Wei, were standing off to the side as they always did when he was called for meetings such as this one. He wanted to see whether they were upset or not with his answers to the elders – but their eyes were cast down.

Reluctantly, not wanting to upset his mother or Wei any more than he might already have, he bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice tight with the rage that he was forced to once more hold back.

They ignored his apology and continued on with their speech. "You must end the relationship."

"No!" he answered, not able to keep himself from raising his voice. "I won't, that's not fair!"

The elders again shook their heads at him, as if he were a child that did not understand right from wrong. "What's not fair, Xiao-lang, is you leading her on. Do what you need to do with her to satisfy your needs, and get rid of her. Surely that is all she is good for."

At that, Syaoran couldn't hold it in anymore. He stepped forward; ready to pummel the life out of the elder that even dared to breathe a single word about using his girlfriend in such a way. The elderly men did not even flinch. Before he could take another step, two guards that stood at attention by the entrance of the room had leapt on him, holding his arms behind his back.

"You _shut up_!" he screamed. "Don't talk about her like that!" He tried with all his might to break free from the guards that restrained him, but found that they were too strong.

"Xiao-lang, she's filth," they said slowly, understanding his reaction but trying to make him see reason – though, technically, there was no reason in their words. They didn't even know her. They didn't know that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, or that she was the kindest, most generous and compassionate person they could ever possibly meet.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he yelled.

"She's _nothing_, Xiao-lang. Don't you understand? You deserve someone of your stature. Of your wealth and status… she's a peasant."

They spoke of him as if he were a king – and quite honestly, he was by all standards. The Li Clan was practically royalty. He came from a family of old money, had riches and luxuries that people only dreamt about having. He was also well educated like a king should be – the best in all his classes, and a fine martial artist. Not to mention he was magically talented. Being a descendent of Clow, the greatest magician and sorcerer of all time, had perks such as that.

And then, with a start he remembered, "She has the cards," he blurted. "She's magical, too! She's the Card Mistress, the creations of Clow approved of her themselves! The Beast of the Seal _chose _her, and Yue-san appointed her the new mister himself! Isn't that enough for you?"

"Don't speak of _that _to us," they growled, seeming angry. "We do not want to be associated with anyone who could defeat one of our own." And, after a few moments, he understood why they replied like that. They had been furious with him when he hadn't won the cards. To them, she was the girl that deprived the Li Clan of a prize they wanted for their own – something that they thought was rightfully theirs.

"But… she… she's the Card Mistress…"

"She is the impudent little girl from Japan that dared to take the Clow Cards from their rightful owners. Nothing more," they said with malice. "We do not want any involvement with her, and more importantly, neither should you. She is a lowly commoner and does not deserve you. She is beneath you."

"You don't even _know _her! You won't even give her a chance!"

"We do not need to give her a chance, Xiao-lang. The relationship is intolerable. When you return to Japan, you must end the relationship with her. Do you understand?"

"No," he protested, finally able to loosen himself from the guards' hold. But he didn't try to come at them, because he knew that it wouldn't get him anywhere. Instead he kept his arms firmly at his side, his fists clenched tight. "I won't do it."

There was silence for a moment. And just for a fleeting, fraction of a second, he thought that maybe he had won the argument. For once, had he defeated them?

And then, out of the silence, came a slow, mirthless laugh.

"Oh, Xiao-lang," they chided, smiling in what seemed to be an evil manner. "We are simply asking you to commit a small gesture of loyalty to the clan – a small gesture that would surely benefit us all."

He felt like snorting. So breaking up with the only girl he could ever love was a _small gesture_?

"We care about you Xiao-lang, surely you must know that, and that we are only telling you this for your own good."

He waited for them to continue, because quite frankly, he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Have you considered anything at all, Xiao-lang? Where your relationship with her will lead you? We ask you to consider it now…"

No one spoke. In truth, he never really had thought much about their future together. They'd been dating for years. All he ever thought about when he was with her was the present. Not the past or the future. Because in the present time, he was with her, and it was all that really mattered to him.

"Let us say you two get married. That is the… _grand plan _of yours, isn't it?" they asked with slight cynicism. "Well – then what?"

He thought about this. The answer seemed easy. Have kids, live a happy life together.

"Where will you two live? In Japan or China?"

He had never thought much about that before either – he didn't plan that far ahead into the future. He'd lived in both Japan and China, and for fair amounts of time. They were both very nice places and he wouldn't mind at all living in either of them… it was more or less a toss-up to him.

"You can't run the clan all the way in Japan, Xiao-lang. It would make no sense for you to live there. You're our future leader; we can't have you living very far. We need you here."

He shrugged, remembering this. As the future Li Clan leader, of course that was expected of him, to stay where the family needed him to be. And the entire family's home was China. Sakura wouldn't mind relocation – she would understand, he knew she would.

"I'll take her with me," he answered firmly, confident that that would solve the residence problem.

"That's very kind of you, Xiao-lang," they told him, nodding their heads as if in agreement, but somehow he could still see the cynicism in their eyes. "Very nice of you indeed, to uproot her from everything she's ever known. I'm sure she'd like that – you taking her away from her nice life in Japan where she knows everyone and everyone knows her. China's a much bigger place; perhaps she won't be as familiar with the locals…"

He could see what they were trying to do. But he wouldn't let them talk such nonsense to him.

"Enough. I know what you're trying to do."

"And doesn't she have an aging otou-sama? He _is _getting rather old, isn't he? Don't you wonder who will take care of him, when she has left? Her onii-chan is working abroad at the moment, isn't he? Her poor otou-sama will have to take care of himself, I suppose, unless her onii-chan is kind enough to abandon his life to return home and care for him…"

"He – he has friends. They'd take care of him…"

Ignoring him, they continued in false cheer, "And years from now, when you're living here in China with your beautiful new wife, you'll have already been appointed the new Li Clan leader! You'll be able to provide for her, so money and finances shouldn't be a problem… it's just too bad you won't have time for a honeymoon."

He was starting to sweat. "What – what do you…?"

They shrugged. "Li Clan leaders begin work right away, Xiao-lang. Leaders don't have time for things such as honeymoons or romantic evenings with their wives… why do you think none of us are married? Why do you think we have concubines rather than spouses? There's just no time in between all the work that we do…"

"I'll _make _time for her," he responded, trying to sound self-assured.

They smiled sadly at him, but he could tell that they were smug. "Best of luck with that, Xiao-lang. We don't know how you'll do it – it is _highly _doubtful that you'll be able to – but who knows? It would just be terribly awful to leave your beautiful wife alone all the time. She'd get bored, lonely, depressed… not having any friends here or not knowing anyone might make her unhappy. She might live a miserable existence here…"

"We'll stay in Japan, then!" he countered, while trying not to seem hysterical. "We don't have to move here…"

They scoffed, seeming insulted. "And neglect _your _family? Neglect the clan and your responsibilities as the leader? Moving to Japan simply won't do, Xiao-lang. You know you cannot run this clan when you're living all the way over there."

"She… she can stay in Japan," he choked, unsure of the suggestion but finding the need to respond with something, _anything_. He could just feel the reality of his situation pressing in on him from every angle and he suddenly felt suffocated. "She doesn't have to stay with me… she can stay where she is and I'll stay here."

They clicked their tongues. "A nice idea, Xiao-lang. However, the statistics of successful marriages, let alone long-distance relationships these days are not as high as they used to be…"

He could feel sweat forming on his temples. "Stop," he said, his voice a hollow tone. "I've heard enough."

"And let's not forget the years and _years _of training you must first undergo before ascending to your position as leader. You've known all your life, of course, that the intense training will keep you busy and on your feet from the crack of dawn until the sun sets. This training, which in fact is supposed to begin tomorrow, does not allow very much outside contact so as not to distract you from your duties…"

"No… that's not… that's not how it is…"

"No? It's not? Xiao-lang, please. We are telling you the truth. The intense training, the restricted contact and the years of preparation that it takes to become the Li Clan leader are things you've been aware of since you were young. You knew the day would come eventually – the day when it would all begin. It's _tomorrow_. And now look what you've done. You've given yourself extra baggage."

"I won't do it," he ground out, feeling weak. "I won't let her go – I don't want to do _any _of this anymore. Find someone else whose strings you can pull. I'm done being your puppet." He did his best to keep his fist clenched so as not to raise any fingers at them in the form of a rude gesture, and turned to walk away.

They shrugged. "Suit yourself," they answered, trying to come off as nonchalant, though he could still sense their malice. "You are welcome to renounce your title as the Li Clan's future leader at any time. We are not holding you to anything, Xiao-lang. However… relinquishing your claim over leadership would mean removing yourself, as well as the _entire family _from the connections you have with us."

They clicked their tongues at him as the blood running through his veins grew cold.

"You've been eating out of a golden spoon since you were born because of us, Xiao-lang. You and your whole family have survived because of our riches and financing. But the moment you walk out that door, no longer our inheritor, you go to being a lowly commoner, just like your Card Mistress – but poorer. Your okaa-sama, what kind of work could she possibly find to support her family of five? Your onee-samas' lives will be put on hold without the money to continue on with their lifestyles… I don't think you'd even be able to afford Wei-san's services!"

"That is enough," a clear, strong voice called out.

Syaoran turned around to face his mother, the simple movement feeling as heavy as if he were in a pool of syrup. His eyes were distressed and his face a shiny palette of sweat. Yelan was looking down at him from her great height, seeming upset but masking it with her stone-like features.

"You have made your sentiments very clear and have presented the facts candidly. My son will decide what he wants to do when he is ready."

Hearing this, they nodded, deciding that the boy had been tortured enough. In any case, they were sure they had convinced him of deciding in the clan's favour.

Yelan then stepped forward, taking her son by the shoulder. Unable to think clearly, what with all the thoughts being thrown around in his head, causing the worst of migraines, Syaoran bowed robotically and turned to the exit, only aware of darkness despite the light that spilled through the opened doors.

_**xxxxxx**_

They walked out of the wide building, the building that looked like a mansion but had for most of Syaoran's life, felt like a torture chamber. His throat was constricted, his chest felt tighter than ever, his mind was a complete jumble of thoughts, and his heart – well, he was sure that it was lying somewhere around his ankles.

Syaoran was glad to see the sleek black car that was parked just by the bubbling fountain. It meant escape. It meant he would be driving back to the airport so that he might return to Japan and get some piece of mind. But returning might also mean facing _her_, and facing the facts.

Wei got into the driver's seat without a word. His kind grey eyes were the same as usual behind his round glasses, but they seemed a bit sadder. He wouldn't give his opinion unless Syaoran asked for it. But to ask for an opinion would mean speaking, and at the moment, every ability Syaoran had, other than breathing, completely escaped him.

The car's engine started and the big silver gates that he compared to prison bars creaked aside to allow them leave. Syaoran sat, silent, staring at his shoes with his world completely turned upside down.

"This is quite the predicament you have for yourself," Yelan began, breaking the silence. She was not looking at him, but looking straight ahead of her as she spoke. It was very normal of her to do so.

Syaoran felt like shriveling into a tumble weed. "I noticed."

"This is a choice you must make soon. And a choice you must make for yourself and no one else," she answered, her voice neither angry, upset nor dismissive.

Quiet erupted around them once more. The silence was also very common among the Li family. They weren't a very talkative bunch, with the exception of his four sisters who spoke at almost every hour of the day to gossip or tell jokes or squeal about good-looking men. The silence should've been nothing new to Syaoran – but for some reason, it didn't feel right. Not this time.

"I don't want to leave her."

Calmly Yelan answered, "So then, don't leave her."

He shook his head. "But what about the complications? I never realized before how hard it would be to just be with her. If she moved, she'd be unhappy. If I moved, I'd be letting the family down. I just… I wish I didn't have to make this decision. I wish I wasn't the heir to the Li Clan."

He didn't know it, but it felt like a knife to her heart to hear him say such a thing. She had taken pride in knowing that she had produced a son, a son that would be a leader of one of the most important families of China. Though she herself was also upset with the way the elders had been treating her son, it only fueled her desire for him in becoming the leader, so that he might make changes in the way things were run.

But it appeared that, in order to become the leader she always wanted him to be so that he could make those particular changes, he'd have to choose between the love of his life and his family.

She was aware of the complications from the very start of their relationship, but knew better than to voice the dangers. Her son was happy. It was better to leave him be, so that he might experience some joy and receive a break from his extremely dreary, boring life. But now there was no more pretending, no more denying the fact that if her son were to continue seeing the Card Mistress, it would be hard on everyone.

"If I did renounce my title…" he asked quietly, "would that really happen? Would our family really struggle?"

She hesitated. Yes – her entire fortune was with the Li Clan, and removing all ties with them would put her on the street. But how could she let him know that? It would feel like she was telling him to choose her and the family. "Don't let our well-being influence your decision," she answered simply. "If you want to be with her, then you should be."

He knew then that it was true. If he left the Clan, his entire family would suffer. He wanted so badly to be selfish, to make the choice that would let him be with the one he loved, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. But what more was that he couldn't bring himself to ruin the best relationship he'd ever had – but somehow, he'd have to do one of the two.

And he knew which of the two it would be.

_**xxxxxx**_

The sun began sinking behind the trees of Penguin Park, casting a brilliant colour of red all across the open skies. Kinomoto Sakura waited patiently for her boyfriend, Li Syaoran to arrive so that they could share one last night together before he had to leave. She was very excited to see him; she hadn't spoken to him for almost three days, and to watch another one of the beautiful sunsets before her without him would just be plain unfair. But she told herself to at least try and get used to not seeing him for long periods of time. Come morning, he'd be halfway to China to begin his training for the position of Li Clan leader.

He came shortly after she did, right on time. He was smiling as he approached, and still smiling when she ran to him, throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace. She couldn't help but notice there was something off about the way he grinned, though. It didn't seem to meet his eyes, and the way he held it… it seemed a little sad.

"You smell like the airport," she giggled. She'd only been to the airport twice in her life – the first time to travel outside of Japan for the first time in her life to go to China, the second to chase after Syaoran before he left for the summer without telling her, all those years ago. They were two very special occasions to her, so she knew the fragrance well.

"I went to China earlier than I had planned, just for the weekend."

She cocked her head to the side, looking more adorable than ever, and making the task he had at hand harder to accomplish. "You did? Well… that would explain why you weren't answering your phone. Why did you go to China and not tell me, silly?" she asked, the smile still on her face, not even upset at the fact that her boyfriend had left the country without even telling her.

He held her at arm's length and did his best to meet her eyes. "I need to talk to you about something."

She grinned and nodded, leading the way to the swing sets so they could talk about whatever it was that he clearly had on his mind. Whatever it was, she wanted to stay positive for him. She knew, way in the back of her mind, that it would be the last night that they would spend together for a long time, so she wanted the night to be a happy occasion for them both – not a sad one.

"Well, okay then, but hurry. Trust me, you don't want to miss this sunset, it's gorgeou—"

But he took her elbow and held it, keeping her from going anywhere else. She backtracked, coming back to face him full on, a confused stare in her emerald eyes.

"What is it, Syaoran-kun?"

He let go of her slowly, letting his fingers run down the length of her arm, giving her goose bumps before touching her hand, fingertip to fingertip, and letting go. He continued to stare at the ground below him, despite the fact that she wanted so desperately search his amber eyes for a response to her question.

"I don't think we can go on like this anymore."

His tone was sad and resigned, but she tried to stay cheerful. "What are you talking about, Syaoran-kun?"

He finally looked up to meet her gaze. He held it for a moment to stare meaningfully into them, to show that he wasn't kidding around. "I don't think we can be together anymore."

She took his wrists and peered up at him, trying hard not to sound desperate. "But… why? What have I done?"

"Nothing," he nearly exclaimed, horrified that she would even think that someone as perfect and angelic as her could ever be capable of doing wrong. "You haven't done anything. But things between us… they won't work. I have to end it. I'm sorry." He turned around to walk away, thinking the faster he walked way, the less pain there would be to suffer from both of them.

She shook her head, refusing to let him go without an explanation first. She appeared in front of him again, confused and unable to understand for the life of her, why the person she cared for most in the world wanted to end things with her, all because he had to go to China for a while.

"Why won't it work?" she asked. "It's me and you… of course we can make it work—"

"You _know_ why," he answered, trying not to sound frustrated. Why did she have to make him say it? Why did she have to pretend like she didn't know? He knew that part of her knew just as well as he did, that he'd be gone for years, and that the difficulties in their relationship would cause her unhappiness. "Training could take years. _Years_, Sakura. And you know I'm not allowed outside contact. I can't ask you to wait for me."

"You don't have to ask me," she responded, a smile on her face as she tried to get him to see reason. "I'll wait for as long as I have to. Even if it takes—"

"That's not fair to you," he grunted. "And it's not just that."

He didn't want to have to tell her why else they couldn't be together. But he had no other choice. He _had _to tell her the other reason, because the first one he had given her wasn't going to be enough to have her willingly end things. And though it would break both his heart and hers by hearing it said aloud, it had to be done. It was the only way he could ever let her go completely, so she could lead her own, independent life. Without having to wait for anybody. Without having to be unhappy.

"What else is it?" she asked nervously.

She already knew the reason why. "My family."

Her eyes welled, but she didn't allow herself to cry. Not yet. Just like Syaoran had always taught her, she had to think rationally, not emotionally. "But why?" she gasped, her voice cracking everywhere, just like his heart. "I have the cards, I have magic running through my veins! Isn't that enough for them?"

"I tried telling them. And it's not. They don't… they don't… _approve _of you for me."

"But… but, who cares what they think?" Sakura exclaimed, growing more and more desperate. She knew exactly how they felt towards her, but she had no idea that that would be a problem for her and Syaoran. She thought that having the cards would be enough. She thought that he loved her too much to care. And surely she was right about that…

"I do," he answered. And sadly enough, he did. The words they'd exchanged with him that day made him really think. Sakura could never be happy with him, as long as he was going to be the Li Clan leader. And there was just no getting out of being the leader. He had to provide for his family. He couldn't let them suffer, all because he wanted to be with her. If only he were that selfish.

"But… but Syaoran-kun—"

"We can't be together, Sakura," he interjected, sounding cold and uninterested. It was the only way for her to let him go. "It will be too hard. You'll be unhappy."

"How could I be unhappy if I'm with you?" she asked, and he almost changed his mind right then and there.

"That's just it," he explained, creating some distance between them. "You _won't_ be with me. I'll be _away _from you, training, for who knows how long! You'll wait and wait, and when I'm finally the Li Clan leader, I'll be too busy to have time for you." He saw her mouth open to protest, so he quickly continued, "And I can't let you come to China with me. Japan is your home. And you know I can't do anything as leader if I'm not in China. We're going to have a long distance relationship forever. Don't you understand? I can't let this happen. You'll be miserable, and – and… you deserve more than what I can offer you."

"I… I can't believe this," she whispered. "You're breaking up with me, because of distance? Syaoran-kun, _please_—"

"Not just distance difficulties," he answered, becoming more frustrated. Why couldn't she realize it? "I can see our life together now. Years from now, after you've finished waiting for me to be done with my training, all you'll want to do is be with me. And I'll be too busy to make time for you because of my duties as a leader. You'll resent me for making me put your life on hold. You'll be lonely living in China and I—"

"All I heard from that sentence," she interrupted, taking his hands and looking into his eyes. "Was that you could see our life together."

He looked down, unable to take the intensity from her stare, when all he really wanted to do was stare into them for the rest of his life. He sighed and slowly pulled himself away from her. On any other given day, it would've been the other way around. It would have been him, begging for her to stay, despite all the challenges they had to face as a couple. And she would've have agreed – but that wasn't the case. He wished it had been.

"I'm sorry."

She seemed to disbelieve his words. She wouldn't accept it. And yet she knew that she had to.

"So then what?" she asked, genuinely confused. What happens after the person you love most rejects you because of what _might _happen in the future? "Are you saying you don't love me? Is that what you're trying to say, Syaoran-kun?"

It took a long, long time for him to answer. And when he finally did, she wished she'd never asked.

"I'm saying I don't want to be with you. Not just that I can't. But I won't. I… I'm sorry, Sakura. I just don't want to be with you anymore. It's too much."

And he was an idiot for thinking it at the time. That he could give the cleanest break possible, if he could just convince her that he didn't want to be with her. He truly thought that things would have been better that way if he made her believe it. That way, she could move on easier and faster. She could live her own life, without having to pine or wait for years, and at the same time please his elders and family by obeying them and ending the relationship.

He finally allowed himself to look up; only to see Sakura trembling with tears as soft cries escaped her pursed lips. He reached out to her and to his surprise; she stayed exactly where she was. She didn't flinch or shy away from his touch. She was too kind to do any of that, even when her heart was breaking, she would not allow anything but the good in her to show.

"I'm sorry," he said again, the final rays of the setting sun disappearing behind dark clouds.

She would thank him for this one day.

"Syaoran," was all she said, as he turned away from her. No "-kun" suffix accompanied his name, or other pleading phrases to get him to stay. Just his name, and it was how he knew she was trying to convey to him her most important feeling, without having to say it. Why would she want to say it, if he didn't say it back?

"Goodbye, Sakura."

And as the sun itself finally sank in unison with Syaoran's heart, he assumed a leisurely type-stride away from the scene, walking as though he was perfectly at his ease, taking a simple stroll through the park. What he really wanted to do was get on his plane early and fly as far away from her as possible, so he'd never have to be reminded about how he broke her heart ever again. So he kept walking and walking, her sobs still buzzing in his ears even when he had put great distance between them.

But what he was doing wasn't really walking, though the pace was rather slow. He was running; running away from her and his fear of the possibility that things might actually be okay – because things couldn't be okay. Not if there was always going to be someone unhappy with the relationship, whether it was the elders who disapproved, or Sakura who had to wait for only God knows how long.

So he continued to run, knowing that no matter how much space he put between him and Sakura, he couldn't run forever, nor could he possibly run from his own heart.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes: **Oh my gosh, another story! It is nearly complete, with a bunch of chapters written ahead of time, so I should be on top of this whole updating thing! I've decided to publish it because as I have just celebrated my birthday, I felt like the time was just right!

There are a few important notes I'd like you all to be aware of! First, if you haven't already seen Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie, then I suggest that you do to gain a better understanding of my story. You can find it online, but if for some reason you can't (or you're just lazy, which is fine), allow me to explain here…

In the first movie, Sakura wins a trip to China because of some sort of magical force. She goes, runs into Syaoran, meets his family, blah blah blah. Now, on to the good stuff. The main plot is that Sakura is being followed (sort of). A woman that had romantic feelings for Clow sealed herself in another realm/dimension/what have you, that could be accessed in a number of ways (such as a well and book).

She was in love with Clow and refused to believe he was dead. She had summoned Sakura because she was in possession of most of the Clow Cards, and so had a bit of his magic, and so she thought Sakura was Clow. A bunch of other stuff goes down; Sakura has to fight the woman and get through to her by means of her special, cute, adorable and kind ways, and saves the day. That's kind of a bad summary, but as long as you get the gist, that's all I need.

I hope you guys liked what you read and come back. I truly believe that this story will be one of my better woven ones. And I hope that in time that you guys agree with me!

As always, if you read the whole thing, please take the time to review :).

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	2. A Familiar Feeling

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter two!

**Casting Shadows**

_A Familiar Feeling_

_Nine or so years later…_

A young woman with messy auburn hair and wandering eyes ran across the room, her head ducked to look under tables and other living room furnishings. She sighed.

"Tomoyo-chan! Where are my running shoes?"

"You left them outside on the doorstep, Sakura-chan."

"Hoe… oh yeah, that's right."

Sakura giggled sheepishly as she opened the front door of her home, the home she shared with her oldest and best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo. Just like she said, they were on the step atop the "welcome" rug, right where she had left them that morning after her early jog. It wasn't the first time she forgot where she placed them, she'd been losing track of a lot of things lately and almost always had to have Tomoyo remind her where she put them.

She just had a lot of things on her mind, lately.

Picking them up from where they were on the step, she brought them inside their modest home and dropped them back on the floor in the foyer. She would be putting them on as soon as she was through digesting her dinner.

"I wish you wouldn't go running tonight," Tomoyo said distractedly as she prepared some tea. "I know it's just the beginning of summer, but it's still pretty cold out. I even heard on the weather channel earlier today that we're expecting heavy rain."

"It's just a little water," Sakura replied cheerfully, as if not hearing Tomoyo mention the word "heavy." She giggled. "And you know I don't like missing my daily jogs."

"You already took one this morning when the weather was crisp," Tomoyo answered, pouring herself and Sakura a cup. "You can afford to miss this one. You don't always have to jog twice day."

Sakura giggled again, grateful that her friend was so concerned. It had been like that for as long as she could remember. Even when they were young and still attending grade school, Tomoyo would fuss over a loose strand of hair. There was never a moment when she was never concerned about her friend.

She took the cup gratefully and sipped, allowing the heat to abate before taking any gulps. "This will be a short one, I promise."

Tomoyo glared as she peered over the top of her own mug. "Well, it better be."

The tea was soothing and helped a lot to unravel her mind. Sakura had been so wrapped up in everything, with finishing school, her part time jobs, and this weird feeling that she'd been fighting for quite some time now. It was something she felt long ago in her past, she knew, but she couldn't put a finger on what that feeling was. And if it happened in the past – well, she much preferred that it stay there.

She never dwelled too much on her past, would not allow herself to go too far back when reminiscing or talking about the good old days. That would require her to discuss _him_. To remember him and think of him and all the things they'd shared.

She lived a happy, simple life – she'd been more or less content with the way things were for nearly ten years. She didn't need to complicate things by thinking about that long ago mess. She was sure digging that far back wouldn't be necessary, anyway. The feeling only nagged her a little bit, every once in a while. It would be gone eventually… at least, that's what she thought and told herself.

For the hundredth time that month, she found herself slipping, forgetting the fact that she absolutely, positively did not want to think of him. But whenever she tried to figure out that funny feeling, he somehow became associated with it and she'd let her mind wander, and… things got out of control. Thoughts of him just wouldn't keep coming.

It was why she chose to start jogging twice each day. It used to be that she'd only go once in the morning, but she found that running took her mind off of everything. But lately it didn't seem to be working, and she began to think that maybe an afternoon jog needed to be added to her schedule.

"I think I'm off," she announced lightly, sliding off her barstool seat and drinking the rest of her tea, scalding her throat in the process. She smiled through the mild pain and put her cup in the sink for her to wash later.

"Be careful," Tomoyo added as she ran off to put her running shoes on.

"I'll be fine," Sakura assured, smiling wide and waving before closing the door behind her. "I won't see any monsters on my way, if that's what you're thinking."

Tomoyo smiled and rolled her eyes, waving her off with her wrist.

Had she known what she was going to encounter that night, seeing a monster would have been the far better scenario.

_**xxxxxx**_

She did a few stretches before taking off, bending every which way to get her blood flowing. She stood up straight, jogged in place for a couple of seconds, and started down the driveway, exiting the front lawn and tearing off for the trail in the woods.

Tomoyo's family owned the entire acre and the house that they both currently lived in. It was a rather big estate, certainly more than big enough to fit the two of them. Their home was a simple two storeys, but it was in fact rather large. Their bedrooms were big and roomy and right next to each other. There was a bathroom on each floor, a room that acted as Tomoyo's studio, a room they used for storage, and everything else was for guest use. They often had friends and family stay the night, so the fact that they had so many extra rooms about the house was a good thing.

The surrounding woods were Daidouji private property as well. It was why Tomoyo wasn't very worried when Sakura suddenly announced that she'd be doing evening runs. They were fenced off and well distanced from the other houses. Unless a friend or family member, no one ever bothered stepping foot on their property. To seek the house out was a hassle, too. Only Tomoyo and Sakura would ever be able to find it right away. The winding trails were confusing and at times not clearly visible with all the leaves and dirt covering them up. Only they would be able to find it right away because they'd grown so accustomed to everything.

There was one other reason why Tomoyo never really bothered to worry over Sakura when she was on her own. And that reason was around Sakura's neck; flailing with every thump she took as she ran deeper in the forest along a familiar trail. It was her miniature staff, the one she'd had since she became the Card Mistress those many years ago. The one that could summon and put into effect all the cards she captured when she was just a kid.

She hardly ever found reason to use it anymore. Kero had told her once when she was still a child, when she went on a maniacal "transforming spree", afraid that she wouldn't be able to transform them all in time, that she could only use them if she absolutely needed to. That night she spent tons of magical energy, transforming a bunch of cards all at once, and even went on a wild goose chase hunting down the Dash Card when she made it confused as a result of her actions. She learned her lesson, and she learned it good that night.

Strange things were no longer happening in her world or the real world, so the use of magic in her household was kept to the bare minimum. Every once in a while, though, Tomoyo would ask her to put on a show and pretend to do some hard-core combat with the Create Card, just so she would have something interesting to film.

It was only a few times that she would ever comply. Because even looking at the cards, the cards she loved and cared for so much, would send her in a state and make her think about how she'd captured and transformed most all of them with _him _at her side. It almost wasn't worth the trouble.

She continued jogging, working up a sweat and getting her heart rate to increase. So far, running wasn't getting her mind off of that strange feeling she'd been having, ever since a month ago. And that feeling kept setting off a chain reaction, a reaction that would almost always result in the image of his face. Would nothing work anymore? What could she possibly do to make herself stop thinking about it? What had to happen for her to rid herself of him, if only for a little while, as she ran her final stretch of the night?

As it turned out; she had to sense that feeling, stronger than she'd ever felt it in that month, so strong and overwhelming that it nearly took her off her feet.

She stopped immediately, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the trail.

"What…" she breathed, staring into the dark spaces of the forest, willing herself to calm down and locate wherever it was the feeling was coming from.

"This sensation…" she whispered. And suddenly, her eyes widened as she sensed the sensation's point of origin. She turned to her right and began running off trail, faster than her normal jogging speed, tearing off into the part of the woods where she hardly traveled, sure to get lost at this time of night.

But it didn't matter. That feeling, she knew it. She just _knew _it. But what was it?

No…

It couldn't be.

_I haven't felt this in years…_

She came to a dead stop in the middle of a clearing, where the moon shone directly above, illuminating everything below it. All that was present were the leaves and gravel on the ground, the trees that surrounded the clearing in a perfect circle, and her, panting heavily with a look of pure disbelief and shock in her emerald eyes.

"Syaoran?"

"Hello, Sakura."

There were very few things that went through her mind after she saw him, before the silence and the darkness settled in, rendering her completely unconscious.

_That couldn't have been him I felt… no. It couldn't have been him._ She thought as she felt her knees, her mind, her everything grow weaker. _No – whatever that was, it wasn't him._

_It was evil._

_**xxxxxx**_

_Ding. Ding. Ding._

Tomoyo looked up from her sketch, upstairs in her studio. She had been glaring at it for a few minutes, trying to figure out what was wrong with it, what she could do to make it better. It wasn't the colour combination, she was happy with the ones she chose. Was it the style? Was the skirt too long? What about the–?

_Ding. Ding. Ding._

She huffed at the insistence of the doorbell. Why did Sakura have to forget her key at a time like this, when she was in the middle of working?

"Really, Sakura-chan," she muttered to herself, getting louder as she marched down the steps that led straight to the front door. "What _has _been going through your head lately? You never forget your—"

She opened the door wide to continue lecturing, but was greeted with a sight she had not seen in nearly ten years. The scolding died in her throat as she gasped, bringing both her hands to her mouth as she tried to register what stood before her.

Syaoran smiled weakly at her, holding an unconscious Sakura in his arms.

"Li-kun!" she exclaimed, the confusion in her eyes and voice so strong and overwhelming it started to make even him feel nervous.

"Hi Daidouji, nice to see you."

She disregarded his polite greeting completely as she stared at him and her best friend, eyes widening in shock. "What on earth happened?"

"She fainted," he replied, "I caught her before she hit the ground though, she's just out cold… listen," he said, hoisting Sakura up higher in his arms. "I'm really happy to see you and all, and I know that we have some catching up to do, but do you mind if we do this inside?"

Suddenly she remembered herself and held the door open for him as he stepped inside, not forgetting his manners and kicking off his shoes before walking into the living room.

"No, no," Tomoyo chided, making her way up the stairs again. "Put her down in her room. She'll be surprised if she wakes up and the first thing she sees is you and me talking. She'll probably just faint again."

He understood her logic and followed her up the steps, securing his hold around her so that she wouldn't bump her head during the short trip. His eyes wandered, coming to rest at all the photographs that hung from the walls and the overall décor of the house that was home to the unconscious girl in his arms.

They arrived on the last landing that stretched into their wide corridor and was led to one of the rooms in the middle. Tomoyo opened the door as quietly as she could and allowed him to enter, putting a finger to her lips as she did so.

He nodded and walked in, locating her bed and setting her down gently, taking her unfolded pink blanket and covering her with it before stepping back to admire what he'd just done. It seemed that her unconscious state had become a light slumber, and he was happy for that. After what happened, she needed some rest.

It had been a long time – much too long, in fact – since he had last seen the girl, sleeping on the bed before him. Her peaceful face was something he had lived without for nearly ten long years, so he could not bring himself to stop from staring. He wanted to drink her in, have that moment last for just a little bit longer…

"Li-kun."

He blinked once to detach himself from his reverie and turned to his side. Tomoyo was still standing by the doorframe, her arms folded and eyes expectant.

He walked up to her, exiting her room so that Tomoyo could shut the door softly behind the two of them. Before she could, he took one last fleeting glance over his shoulder, at the sleeping Sakura who dozed lightly on the mattress, and sighed.

"I can explain," he answered in a hushed voice, not able to meet Tomoyo's eyes.

"I certainly hope you can," she whispered back, giving him a knowing look before closing the door.

She once again led the way downstairs, wasting no time. They headed straight for the kitchen and she began brewing a fresh pot of tea, turning her back to him but beginning the conversation at once.

"You've got a lot of nerve, mister," she said.

"Let me explain," he said.

"Don't get me wrong, Li-kun, I'm glad you're here. But you could've _called_."

"Really?" he asked, his eyes and tone of voice conveying his surprise. "You're happy to see me?"

She rolled her eyes at him as she turned around, sliding a cup to him across the counter. "Of course I am. Not everyone hates you. Not even she does," she said, nudging her head in the direction of the stairs, obviously referring to Sakura. "Just her onii-chan, I think. And, well, Kero-chan never really liked you to begin with."

He looked about his surroundings, continuing his earlier evaluation. He appraised the neat and tidy living room and the well-kept kitchen space. It seemed as though the two friends were living in a comfy, ordinary house. It looked like a happy enough home, with lots of picture frames and nice decorations everywhere he turned. Sakura most likely led a stress-free life there.

"And where is the plush toy, exactly?" he asked curiously, swinging his head around to see if he could spot him.

"My room," Tomoyo answered shortly, pouring him his tea and beginning to rummage through the fridge. "He likes it there because my room is tidier and he says my cushions are softer. And I also keep a stash of goodies in a drawer for him for when he gets hungry. He's probably already asleep. He had a long, hard day of… beating his high scores on our video game system…" she finished with an ironic laugh.

She presented him with a slice of cake that she took from the fridge and sat herself down in the barstool seat across from him, putting her elbows atop the table and her chin in her hands, preparing herself for whatever story he had to tell.

"Thanks," he said, though he really wasn't in the mood to be fed. "Things haven't changed much, have they?"

She shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Things are more or less the same."

Syaoran wanted to smile at that too. Good – a normal, happy, peaceful life. Exactly what he had wanted for Sakura.

The smile on Tomoyo's face slowly vanished as she took on a look of annoyance. "But I have a feeling things won't be the same – not once you've told me why exactly you're here."

"I can explain," he said again.

She frowned. "So I guess this means you're not here to get her back." The way she said it didn't seem like a question.

He let his eyes gravitate to the countertop as he shook his head. "Of course not."

"And why not?" she asked, sounding angry. "If you ever did show your face here ever again, I would have thought that it would've been for that reason."

He sighed sadly. "It's not. Let's just get that out of the way, okay? I'm not here to win her back or to restart what I ended. I have no right. Please, just don't bring it up in front of her – all right?"

Tomoyo was looking at him incredulously, her eyes narrowed almost as if insulted. "What do you mean you have _no right_? Don't you love her anymore?"

He knew this conversation was bound to come up when he decided to travel back to Japan, he just didn't know Tomoyo would bring it up so fast. But there was no use in avoiding it. He thought he might as well hash it out right then and there and have the discussion over and done with, so he could talk about what he really came for.

"Daidouji, my feelings don't factor into my trip here. At all. Whatsoever. I'm not here to screw up her life by trying to get her back. So just get the idea out of your head already, all right? And don't you even think about doing any scheming."

She frowned as though a parent had just scolded her. But she regained her feisty attitude once more, not allowing him to end the conversation so easily like that. "So you're saying you do still love her?"

"Does that matter?" he retorted.

"Of course it matters!"

"No. It doesn't. She's happy, she's safe, and she's normal. _That's _all that matters."

Tomoyo huffed, unhappy with his response. "Well if you're not here for her, then why _are_you here? And why didn't you call, for heaven's sake? You just had to randomly show up on our property one day and get her to faint by scaring the bejeezus out of her? What were you thinking?"

"I would've called," he said, knowing that it wasn't entirely wise to make his arrival unannounced. "But I didn't have your number."

She had forgotten that slight problem. "Oh… right."

"I visited her house, but no one was there. Then I went to yours, but the new family living there couldn't point me to where you and your okaa-sama moved. I thought about visiting the boutique, but I probably wouldn't have—"

She stopped him with the wave of both her hands, confusion showing in her eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. What boutique?"

His eyes widened, as though he had just caught himself in a lie, though he hadn't. "Oh – um, the… the boutique. I heard you last worked at a boutique when I… er, called up Yamazaki..."

A thin eyebrow was lifted, doubting his reply. "I never worked at a boutique."

Syaoran cleared his throat nervously. "Well, then, that must have been Yamazaki making up lies again, I guess…"

"Li Syaoran…" Tomoyo began, her voice impatient.

He started scrambling for other responses. "What I meant to say was… I meant to say… studio?" As the words left his mouth, he remembered walking up the stairs, down their hall passed a door labeled, "Tomoyo's Studio", and scrawled underneath in Sakura's familiar penmanship was, "But only when she's not at the other one!"

"Yeah," he coughed, confident in this new answer. "I meant to say studio."

Her eyebrow was still raised, but it seemed as though she was buying his lie – for now. "Right."

"Right," he repeated, trying to switch topics. "Anyway. I just had to find you guys again."

"And why is that?" she asked, and he wondered why she never bothered joining the police force, because she was doing a terribly good job at seeing right through him and interrogating him.

He didn't quite know how to answer her question, though he'd been practicing this speech over and over again in his mind, since he got off the plane. He wasn't sure how to make her understand, or if she'd even believe him. But she had to, she just _had_ to. He couldn't let her believe that the reason he was back was for Sakura, or nothing would ever get accomplished.

"I need her help."

Suddenly she seemed concerned, and she was back to being the old Tomoyo he knew when they were younger.

"What is it?" she asked with worry. "Are you in trouble? Is it money?"

He shook his head, quickly ruling the suggestion of money out. Tomoyo began to wonder why she even bothered to ask if it was about money, because it certainly seemed that Syaoran was doing perfectly well. The wristwatch he was wearing looked terribly expensive, and with her fashion sense, she could just tell by the material that it wasn't a rental suit he was wearing.

"No, no," he assured her. "Nothing like that. It's…"

She waited for him patiently to go on. "It's what?"

He ran a hand through his chocolate brown hair, attempting to get himself together and just come out with it already.

"I think something is after me."

Her eyes widened at the answer.

"Something is _after_ you?"

He nodded, staring at her seriously in the eyes. "I've been having these… funny feelings."

Tomoyo leaned forward, suddenly intrigued. "Sakura-chan too," she said, and Syaoran was surprised to hear this. "She's only mentioned it a couple of times, but lately this past month… she's been having this weird feeling. She said it reminded her of—"

"The past?"

She settled back in her stool, eyebrows raised. "How did you know that?"

He inclined his head forward, as if they were sharing an important secret. "Because that's what it's been reminding me of too. This feeling, the sensation… it's been following me."

"_Following_ you?"

He nodded. "I've been living abroad for a while, mostly in North America doing business with other companies," he explained to better her understanding. "While I've been there, that feeling always nagged at me. I just knew it had to be something magical, so I flew back to China to get some answers from the clan, and—"

"And?" Tomoyo prompted.

He seemed as though he was struggling with what to say next. "They were… unavailable. I couldn't get any answers out of them. So I came here."

"For Sakura-chan's help," Tomoyo finished for him.

He nodded again. "Yes. For her help. Because I know she's the only one who can do anything about it."

She eyed him suspiciously, giving him a look that nobody ever wants to be given, especially not from someone who can be as tenacious as Daidouji Tomoyo. "What are you not telling me, Li-kun?"

The look on his face told her that he was positively caught – that there was in fact something that he was keeping from her. And if he was keeping it from her, there was no doubt that he'd be keeping it from Sakura as well.

"N-nothing," he stammered, looking away. "I've told you everything I know. Now I just need you to help me ask her for her help."

Tomoyo ignored the way he lied so poorly to her and leaned back in her stool once more, folding her arms and looking as though she were about to get entertained.

"Ask her yourself," she said simply.

"Now?" Syaoran asked. "But she's sleeping."

Tomoyo shook her head and nudged her head in the direction of the stairs the way she'd done earlier, without even looking up from the table.

"Oh?" she asked in that annoyingly familiar know-it-all manner of voice of hers.

Startled by her challenging tone, he looked to his side to see if she was simply trying to psych him out. But she wasn't. Standing in the middle of the stairs, leaning on the railing and rubbing her eyes stood Sakura, who had obviously just woken up from her nap.

"Sakura," he said breathlessly.

She rubbed her eyes once more, as if trying to see if she was just hallucinating. "Syaoran-kun."

He swallowed thickly and nodded, as if confirming her realization for her – no, he wasn't just some figment of her imagination; he was actually there, in the flesh, sitting at her kitchen table. He didn't blame her for her reaction. If she had shown up on his doorstep unexpectedly after almost ten years, he probably would've soiled himself.

She smiled. "You came back."

_**xxxxxx**_

They were all three seated in the living room, sipping tea and trying to get comfortable. Tomoyo looked perfectly at ease, settling down on the sofa as though she was watching a good soap opera. The other two ignored her and tried to face the other, without looking foolish by blushing or stuttering.

"I'm sorry I scared you back there," Syaoran began.

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "I – I was just surprised. I had been running pretty fast for a long time... I was just out of breath. That was probably why I passed out…" she said pathetically, and Tomoyo had to stifle a snort for her best friend's poor excuse.

"Of course," Syaoran agreed quickly – of course she'd fainted because she was exerting herself too much. She would never pass out, just because she saw him… right?

"So what are you… what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, her voice cautious. "How did you find us? I don't think we're in the book…"

He set down his tea. "I've been here for almost a month, actually," he answered, surprising them both. "I've spent the last three weeks trying to find you guys. I didn't want to… er, be a bother to anyone by asking where you lived, but I didn't really have a choice. So eventually I had to call up Yamazaki and ask him."

"I see," Sakura answered, trying to put from her mind the fact that he'd been in the same country as her for nearly a month already.

There was a short silence before Syaoran started talking again, as if not wanting it to be so quiet and trying to make _some _conversation so as not to let the atmosphere be so awkward. "The house was much harder to find," he told them. "The estate is huge and covered in trees. It might as well be a forest."

"So how did you find it?" Tomoyo then asked.

"Well, I had to sense you out." And it was obvious that he was addressing Sakura even though he wasn't looking in her direction, because the only one with magical powers between the two of them was her. "But sensing you out only led me near to where you were jogging, not the house. When I found the trail you were running on, it got easier."

When no one said anything, he spoke again, a little peeved that he had to be the one making an effort with the conversations. He just knew that Tomoyo was purposefully keeping quiet so that she could watch him squirm and say something stupid in front of Sakura, the way he did back when they were in grade school.

"I know I really should have called, but…"

Sakura shook her head, smiling kindly and waving off his apologies. "It's no problem. Really. Ne, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Yeah, no problem. Just drop by whenever he darn well pleases and scare you right out of your running shorts. As long as he brings you back, unconscious though you may be—"

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura said.

She shrugged and gave her best smile.

Sakura laughed nervously, turning to face Syaoran once more. He was looking at her funny, as though it was his first time setting eyes on her – and technically, it was. He hadn't heard her laugh in so long. It was music to his hears, literally.

"So," she began again, cheerfully as ever, as if the ex-boyfriend that completely shattered her heart was not sitting directly across from her, "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Syaoran could hardly believe his ears. She called having him there a pleasure? He would've thought that she wanted to spit in his face, send him away and never speak to him ever again – but that was crazy thinking, of course. The Sakura he knew was forgiving, kind, and always cheerful. Those were things he knew that would never be changed in her.

"Actually… I need your help," he finally said. "I know I have no right to be here, or to even ask… but—"

"Stop," she insisted, the concern in her eyes making his heart twist. "Don't say things like that. You know you can always ask me for help."

They both knew what he was referring to when he said he had no right to be there and ask for her help – but neither of them would voice it. It was already uncomfortable enough without acknowledging the big, black elephant squatting in their living room.

He gave her a small smile. "I was telling Daidouji earlier, about this funny feeling I've been having for a while now…"

Sakura didn't need him to explain any further. Immediately she was sitting upright in her seat, her attention focused on him. "What I felt back in the woods," she said, "before I passed out. That feeling. Is that what you're—?"

He nodded. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

Suddenly she was alarmed. "Syaoran-kun, that feeling was—"

"Evil," he finished for her. "I know."

"And you've been feeling it for weeks?" she asked, worried.

He nodded again but didn't want to make her worried. "I'm sorry to bother you with this, but… it's getting bad. The elders are no use. They're not… um, available," he said. "I didn't have anyone else to take this problem to but… well, you."

"They're not available?" she asked, "what do you mean?"

It appeared as though he was struggling with his words again, thinking carefully before he spoke next. "They don't really… have any answers for me," he finally said, thinking about each word before it escaped his mouth.

"They don't know what's going on?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Er… no. So, you see why I had to come to you. It's bad, Sakura. I wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't."

She understood completely, and he thought it was funny how in one measly night he could be reminded of all the reasons why he fell in love with her in the first place. And those were a lot of reasons.

"We need to fix this," she said determinedly. "That feeling, whatever it was… I didn't like it. And we can't let it hang around for too long."

He could tell that she was worried and wanted to do anything to ease her troubles. He had to reassure her somehow. "It hasn't done anything too terrible," he began. "You don't have to—"

"Too terrible?" Tomoyo chimed, all of a sudden worried, just like Sakura. "What's it done to you?"

He shook his head and bit his tongue, realizing he'd spoken out of foolishness. If he didn't want to worry them, he should have just kept his mouth shut. In the end, he'd only managed to fuel their concern for him. He felt like an idiot.

"N-nothing," he answered. But Tomoyo wasn't buying it, and he silently cursed her for it. Sakura would have believed him, he was sure, but with Tomoyo doubting him, Sakura was bound to begin doubting as well.

"Tell us," Sakura insisted, and when she said it so worriedly like that… well, he just had to comply.

Reluctantly he lifted the sleeve of his expensive jacket and revealed dark bruises. The girls gasped at the sight of them. They were yellow and black, some even blue and definitely fresh.

"They don't hurt," Syaoran insisted. "And it hasn't done anything to me other than that. It didn't even start doing any of this until I arrived in Japan."

The girls didn't seem to know what to say. He had sprung so much on them in one night, had caught Sakura by surprise, caused her to faint, and now made them worry so much so that they weren't able to speak. He should've practiced how this was going to happen. He shouldn't have done all of this in one night.

He stood up. "I'll leave you for now. It looks like we all have a lot to think about."

"You're not going anywhere," Tomoyo piped up angrily, standing as well.

"I – I'm not?"

"No," she answered, glancing at Sakura, who looked just confused as Syaoran did. "You think we're going to let you off on your own with that thing following you around and leaving you bruises?"

"Daidouji, listen, this isn't—"

"No," she said, answering her own question and disregarding his attempt to speak completely. "We're not. You'll stay with us until we know what's going on."

"W-what?" both he and Sakura stammered.

"You heard me," she replied. "You'll stay here, where Sakura-chan can protect you."

He wanted to scowl at this, because he wasn't in need of anyone's protecting, not even Sakura's. "I've been fine on my own, Daidouji. I don't need to stay here."

"I don't want to hear it," she said stubbornly, taking him by the arm and leading him to the stairs. Sakura followed, unsure of what to do with herself. They stopped at a window and gazed outside to see that the rain began falling, without anyone noticing it. "Oh, what do you know? The weatherman was right for once. How can you go out to find your car with the rain pouring so heavy like that? You'll stay with us, at least just for the night. You can leave in the morning and we'll make a game plan. Oh, this is so exciting! It's like capturing cards all over again!"

"Tomoyo-chan, are you—"

"Yes, I'm sure," she snapped.

Syaoran and Sakura were finally able to look at each other, but only because they weren't too certain about Tomoyo's quick decision making. Their eyes shifted from one another to Tomoyo to the upstairs where all the bedrooms were. Would Tomoyo make her—?

"Sakura-chan, will you show Li-kun to his guest room and all the other guest facilities in the house?" she asked, bounding up the stairs and not waiting for her answer. She clapped her hands together. "Boy, I'm exhausted. I'm going to get ready for bed. I think you two should as well."

Syaoran walked briskly up the stairs after her and caught her by the elbow. "I thought I told you _no scheming_—" he hissed in her ear.

"I'm not scheming," she whispered back, loosening herself from his grip and grinning at Sakura, who stared at them, confused. "I'm just giving you a place to sleep for the night. Is that so wrong?"

He scowled at her.

"Now let's all get some sleep, shall we?"

Somehow Syaoran was sure that she and the plush toy would be the only two getting any sleep at all that night.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** I owe all of you a big, fat thank-you for the wonderful reviews I got for the first chapter!

Lots, lots more to come! So please stay tuned :)

Thank you again and please take the time to review!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	3. All That Has Changed

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

_For Swallowingtears, from one author to another._

Now… on with chapter three!

**Casting Shadows**

_All That Has Changed_

Syaoran and Sakura did their best to avoid the other's eye as they stood, separated by only a few steps on the stairs. She was at the bottom; he was a few steps above, holding onto the railing as if his life depended on it. He didn't want to make things awkward, so moved his mouth to speak – but nothing came out.

Finally Sakura said, "Um… if you follow me, I could show you to our guest bedroom?"

Syaoran shook his head, descending the stairs and coming to join her. He tried to look sure of himself.

"No, it's all right. I don't want to impose. I'll walk to my car."

"But…" she said, following him as he strode towards the door. He put his hand on the knob, and she suddenly felt compelled to make him stay. "It's raining cats and dogs out there. You could stay here with us, just for the night. You wouldn't be imposing at all, really."

Her hospitality and the fact that she could bear to have him sleeping in her home, after all that he'd done to her made his heart clench. He was already asking for her help with the situation, he didn't feel right asking her for anything else, especially shelter.

He shook his head. "I'll be fine."

She seemed unsure about his decision and the finality in his voice. Her green eyes shifted slowly in their sockets, as if she was thinking. "But, how will you stay dry?"

He smiled at her, and she didn't know how or why it happened, but her breath caught. And faster than it had happened, her breathing returned, and it was as if she'd never been caught off guard by his incredibly handsome smile.

He opened the door, stepping outside and just barely protected by the hood of the house from the splattering rain. He closed his eyes, muttered a quick incantation, and a bright green circle materialized around him. It shimmered, exuding vibrancy and looking pretty.

Tempted to smile, Sakura's mouth twitched, remembering how he had used a similar spell when they were just kids capturing the Snow Card, to help him from sinking into the snow. "I remember this," she said, not able to help herself and revealing a faint smile. "But it was only able to keep you from sinking. Will it be able to keep you dry?"

Syaoran nodded. "I modified it a little. I'll stay dry and warm in here. You don't have to worry."

She bit the corner of her lip, not feeling very comfortable letting him leave after all that he'd told her. An evil force, spirit, or whatever it was, was following him around and causing him harm. She wanted to put her foot down and ask him to stay, but she knew she'd never be able to convince him to.

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," he told her, flashing a smile again and making her blink a few times to regain focus.

"Well… then, I guess it's all right for you to go. I wish you would stay, though."

And he almost did, just hearing her say it aloud. But he knew it would be better if he didn't.

"I'll come back to see you in a couple of days, when we've all had some time to think about what's happening. You'll tell the plush toy and Yue-san, won't you?"

"I will. And they'll figure something out, Syaoran-kun. Everything will be fine soon."

He returned her smile, walking further out into the rain, but remained dry because of the protective spell that enclosed him. He waved. "Goodnight, Sakura."

She smiled and waved, leaning out of the doorframe. "Goodnight, Syaoran-kun!"

With one last look over his shoulder, he began to make is way out of their driveway, ready to walk through the woods for however long it took to find his car. As he walked, hands in the depths of his pocket, he couldn't quite help but to feel as though he were a teenager, back in the day, leaving Sakura's house after a date.

He wondered if maybe it felt that way for her, too.

He sighed, thinking it probably did not. He had broken her heart and gave her no reason to ever think of him again, unless they were thoughts of hurt or hate that went through her mind. So why would she even feel for a moment that it was as if they'd just finished one of their date nights, back when they were a couple?

Picking up his speed because of his desire to return to his hotel and wallow in his pity, he found himself close to where he had parked his car. By increasing his speed he was able to cut the twenty-minute walk to finding Sakura and the house in half. He almost felt annoyed at the enormity of the Daidouji estate.

He found his car where he left it, parked on the side of the road. He exhaled in relief for finally finding it and approached swiftly, eager to get inside and begin the drive back to the hotel. He first slid his key into the lock, got rid of the protective spell around him and seated himself into the driver's seat. Without the shield around him anymore, it was suddenly very cold. He decided to hurry things along faster to salvage what little warmth he had left.

He put the key into the ignition and turned it. He prepared to make a smooth turn onto the road but instead made a strange lurch forward. Eyebrows raised he maneuvered the vehicle another inch forward to see whether or not the odd movement was simply a fluke, but found it did the same thing.

Puzzled, he stepped out of the car and into the rain, but not before placing the protective spell around him once more. He first advanced to the hood of the car to see what damage there might have been internally, but soon realized the real issue was with the tires.

He had a flat. He had an actual flat tire. He groaned and threw his fist forward into the air angrily, having a mini fit right there on the side of the road. He must've ran over a particularly sharp rock, and he _knew_ he must have when he got there that night. He had just thought that perhaps he'd imagined the odd motion of the car upon his arrival, but obviously he thought wrong.

Irritated and unwilling to sulk all the way back to the house, he moved to the rear of the car to check for a spare tire, and some tools maybe that would allow him to change the flat one. But of course, there were none. Grumbling out of frustration, he considered his options.

He could always just stay in the car with the protective barrier around him to keep him warm, but it would disappear if he fell asleep. And even if he did just decide to stay in the car for the night, what would he say if Sakura – or worse, Tomoyo – found him in the morning? Both would be furious if he didn't return to the house for a bed and a meal.

He sighed, defeated, and began to make his way back to their house.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura was washing the dishes – or at least, that was what she was supposed to be doing. But the tap had been running for about two minutes while she was zoned out, thinking about the return of Syaoran and how quickly he had come back into her life, as if he'd never left. Though it was true, it felt weird and awkward with them being in the same room together, having not parted on relatively good terms, she still felt as if with him being back, things were normal again.

In fact, when he had left the house just a while ago, she had felt something was missing. Out of habit, she had leaned out of the door a little as she waved at him, half expecting that he would kiss her on the cheek, the way he normally did when he left her house after a date. As he left, she couldn't help but be reminded of this and slip back into her normal routine of waiting for his kiss.

She really hoped he hadn't noticed her expecting it. She wasn't supposed to even be thinking about such a thing with him.

The hot water was beginning to run cold in the sink when she heard a faint knock on the door. She wondered how long the person on the other side must've been waiting and knocking, because it took her quite a while to snap out of it. She turned off the tap, dried off her hands and hopped out of the kitchen, into the foyer where she peeked out of the hole in the door to see who had come to call.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion when she saw who exactly it was. With a brief glance up the stairs to see if Tomoyo had stirred and after waiting a moment with nothing happening, she found it safe to open the door.

"Syaoran-kun?" she asked, sounding confused. "Did you forget something?"

He was standing before her again, circled by the protective spell. He looked sheepish.

"I have a flat."

She smiled slowly. "Ah, I see."

"I'm really sorry to ask," he began, knowing he was going to lose his cool when he'd only just begun to explain, "and I'm really sorry to be a bother, I should've accepted when you offered, and you're completely free to decline this time, I swear it'll be all right if you do—"

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura interrupted, giggling. "Would you like to come in and stay the night?"

He blushed lightly. "Thanks."

She laughed again, opening the door wider for him and smiling wide. "Come on in!" She stretched her arm wide to lead him into the foyer.

He did as he was told and kicked off his shoes, slipping his feet into the slippers Sakura offered him.

"You can hang your coat up there," she told him, showing him a coat rack that stood just a few feet away. She then walked into the hall, humming as she did so, and stopped to open a closet. He followed and stood just behind her as she stared up at the shelves of blankets and towels, one hand on her hip, the other holding her chin. His immediate thought was, _why the hell is everything she does so damn cute?_

"Tomoyo-chan and I don't have any spares we could give you," she said apologetically. "But I can call a tow truck to come for your car tomorrow morning," she said, breaking their silence as he watched her continue to stare up into the shelves, trying to decide which blanket and sheets to give him. She seemed to be perfectly at her ease, which was a change from when he had first arrived. He was glad that she was at least starting to adjust.

He shook his head. "That's okay. It wasn't really mine, anyway. It was sort of a rental. I'll call a taxi and have them pick me up. I'll pay for the repair on the tire if I have to. The car wasn't great, anyway."

Not that she knew anything about cars, Sakura conversationally asked, "What car was it?"

Syaoran shrugged. "A Rolls-Royce."

As she was about to reach up for something inside the closet, her arms fell to her sides and her eyes widened. "They give cars out like that as _rentals_? Aren't they really expensive?"

He shrugged again. "Well, it wasn't _really _a rental. I just happen to do business with a man that works in vehicle manufacturing and importing. He gave me the car. I didn't ask specifically for the Royce, though," he added, not wanting to come off as a pompous rich man.

"Someone just _gave _you a Rolls-Royce?" Sakura asked, even more surprised.

Syaoran really didn't know what to tell her. "Well… yes. I mean, I do business with this man and he likes the work I do. He didn't mind letting me borrow it. To him, a Rolls-Royce is almost like spare change. It's really not a big deal…"

"But it is!" she cried, genuinely impressed with the man's wealth, if he could just give away an expensive car like that and think of it as loose change. "Wow, that really is something. But… are you sure you can afford to fix repairs on a car like that? It would cost you an awful lot…"

"Well…" he began unsurely, wondering how he could word his response without sounding pretentious. "The money shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure I'll be able to cover the costs. You don't have to worry."

Sakura seemed to doubt his answer, but then smiled as if a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh yes, that's right, the clan!" she said. And then, like the ditz she sometimes was, she realized she had brought up the reason for their break-up and immediately regretted her tendency to speak without thinking. "I mean – um – your family must be very wealthy still. Of course you can pay for a car like that," she said, continuing to smile despite herself.

He didn't answer her.

Giving yet another small smile that simply just made a tangled mess of his heartstrings, Sakura returned her attention to the linen closet. Finally she picked out a thick set of dark green blankets, sheets and pillow covers. She reached up for them and Syaoran noticed how her shirt lifted a little, revealing a bit of her flesh. He blushed and looked away, praying she wouldn't notice how she still had such an effect on him.

When she brought them down from their shelf, she presented them to him, asking, "Are these all right?"

He nodded quickly, taking them from her, and he remembered how he'd similarly done so when she was offering him a green scarf that she'd knitted. "Thanks."

She smiled brightly at him. "No problem!"

She began making her way down the hall once more and up the stairs, humming again as he trailed after her. They were walking for just a little while when she stopped at a door that was surrounded by a few others. Putting her hand on the knob, she pushed the door open and flicked on the lights. Before him was a very spacious guest bedroom, very clean and all white. There was also a lounge chair, a desk and some other things that furnished the room.

"I know it's really plain," she said, "but we don't do much to decorate the guest bedrooms."

"It's fine," he told her, wanting to reassure her that any shelter she gave him was fine by him. In fact, she should've thrown him into their garage and told him to sleep on the floor after what he'd done to her, but of course she was much too kind for that.

She walked over to a closet and opened it for him. "There are a few hangers in here for your clothes. Um… we don't have any pajamas for you right now but… I think I have some old things of onii-chan's and otou-san's that you could put on."

"Thank you," he told her. He really didn't want to wrinkle his suit. It cost almost the same as the Royce would.

She then walked over to another door inside the room, revealing a small bathroom. "There's a toothbrush and toothpaste in here for guest use, and a towel is hanging on the rack that you can use too, if you want to shower. And you can help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen or living room. If you need anything, my room and Tomoyo-chan's room is just across the way here." She pointed down the hall.

"I'll be okay," he answered, feeling as if she had the urge to give him accommodations that were similar to a five star hotel, like the one he was staying at. "I won't impose more than I already have. I'll stay here for the night and won't bother you for anything else. I'm sorry I had to ask you to do this for me."

She smiled widely at him, seeming amused. "Syaoran-kun, it's fine! We don't mind at all. You have nothing to apologize for."

He was quiet for a moment.

"Yes I do."

Sakura's smile drooped at the corners a bit in confusion. "You do?"

His face was like stone as he nodded once. "Y-yeah."

She cocked her head to one side, staring at him in wonder. With her green eyes so wide like that and her expression so damn adorable, how could he do what he was about to do? She made everything hard for him, just by doing the simplest things. At any rate, how could she not know what he had to apologize for? Either she really did not know, or she simply felt as if his actions back then were justified. There was just no telling which of the two it was.

"I know it's almost been ten years," he began after some hesitation, his voice a mouse's whisper. "But I owe you an apology for… for leaving things the way I did with you, all those years ago. I – I know it may not seem like much now, after all this time, but—"

She somehow ended up standing very close to him, peering into his eyes with sadness. She smiled to reassure him.

"Stop," she interrupted, shaking her head. "That was a long time ago. We're adults now. We're both better people for it. I – I'm okay, really. And by the looks of it, you're doing pretty well for yourself too, so…"

Did she really think that? That he was doing well? Just because he was rich? She had no idea…

"Sakura…"

She shook her head again, insisting that he stop before he got ahead of himself. "You don't have to apologize for what you did back then, I understand why. But since I know you want to hear these words – I forgive you. All right?"

No, she couldn't possibly comprehend his reasons for breaking up with her, when she really had no idea why he did it. He had made her believe that he'd broken up with her because he cared about what the elders thought, and that his feelings for her weren't strong enough to make him stay. But that wasn't it. He had left because he couldn't let his family suffer, not because he cared at all what the elders thought. He hadn't felt that way in a very long time. As for his feelings for her…

Those never faded. And he knew that they never would. And somehow after almost ten years there he stood with her in her home, feeling as if he needed to pick things up where he had left them off.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Her smile grew wider, the sadness disappearing altogether from her tiny face. "I'm glad you're back though," she told him, reaching for the door to go find him some clothes, "it's nice to see you again. Tomoyo-chan and I can take you around and introduce you to some people. If you're not busy, of course."

She had spoken with mixed enthusiasm and anxiety in her voice, but why she'd be nervous to have him meet anyone was beyond him.

He nodded. "That would be nice."

She looked simply delighted that he had agreed to her idea, when really he would have rather not had to meet and greet anyone. Even contacting Yamazaki to find her, one of his oldest friends from grade school was a challenge for him. He knew heads would turn when old friends and acquaintances would start to get news of his return.

He just hoped the rest of his stay in Japan would go smoothly. So far it had not been, and with evil forces lurking, he wasn't sure if anything would go as he wished.

_**xxxxxx**_

When morning came, Syaoran woke feeling not rested at all.

Before rising to go to the bathroom or to even stretch, he brought his arm up to his face to check for any additional fresh bruises. There were none. He sighed.

He threw his blanket off of him and set his feet atop the cherry wood floors, trying to decide what he should do first. A shower, he thought, so that he might look presentable in front of Sakura, and ironing his suit so that he could wear it again. As he made movement to go to the guest bathroom, a tiny knock was heard on the door.

Noticing a robe hanging nearby on a hook attached to the wall, he pulled it on and opened the door.

Tomoyo smiled brightly at him. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Li-kun!"

Her loud and happy voice was a little much for him at six thirty in the morning.

"O-ohayo," he stammered, fully aware of his disheveled appearance.

"I didn't wake you, did I? How did you sleep?"

He shook his head. "No, no. I've been awake for a while. I slept fine. Thanks for the room."

She waved his apology away with the shake of her head. "Don't mention it. Can I get you breakfast? What would you like to eat?" she demanded, always the hostess and fussy friend.

Syaoran, not comfortable with the way her head inched forward as she got eager and excited to fulfill her role as hostess, took a step back, finding himself feeling as he always did whenever Tomoyo interrogated and got too close for comfort. Things really hadn't changed, had they?

"A-anything you have is fine…" he told her. "I can just come out to get it myself; you don't need to bring it to me."

She nodded. "Oh yes, of course. You must want to shower first! I'm sorry; I'll leave you to your business. You must not have any outing clothes; do you, Li-kun? Why don't you give me your suit from last night? I'll give it a quick wash and iron."

He wasn't sure if he was okay having her do his chores. "Are you sure? I can do it myself when I finish the shower."

She seemed confused by his response. "Nonsense," she answered, pushing the door aside and walking into the room herself, finding his clothes where they hung from a hanger on the closet handle. She grabbed the hanger and headed back for the door. She turned around to face him just before leaving.

"Er – th-thanks, Daidouji," he said.

She shone her pearly whites once more. "Like I said, don't mention it! But, if you really wanted to show me your thanks, you'd give things with Sakura-chan another shot."

His spluttering demeanor quickly evaporated at the suggestion. He should've known there was more than a just hostess-ing reason to her visit.

"Daidouji…"

"I will take your monotone voice as agreement. Be done in a half an hour, breakfast will be ready by then!"

"What did I tell you?" he asked, following her as she stepped outside the door, forgetting the fact that he was still dressed in his nightclothes and robe. "I asked you not to do any scheming. This isn't like before, Daidouji. I told you I didn't come back for her!"

"I realize that," she answered, walking into what appeared to be the laundry room and dropping his clothes into a small hamper. "I'm just trying to do what I think is right. Okay? There isn't much time…"

He had no idea what she meant by that, but he didn't bother asking. "Don't you understand what I did to her? I broke up with her because –" he began, ready to get into the nasty details of the way he ended things, literally leaving her hanging by a thread, broken hearted and crying.

"I know why you broke up with her," she answered, turning around to face him full on, the hamper still in her hands. "And surely after all these years of knowing me, you must know that I know more than you think that I know."

He blinked a couple of times. "_What_?"

She rolled her eyes, giving a short sigh as if she were teaching him the simplest lesson to be learned in life. "I knew how you felt about Sakura-chan way before you did, back in the fifth grade. The _fifth grade_, Li-kun. I'm observant and I _know _people. And because of my superior observational skills and amazing talent in reading people, I know for a fact that you did not just break up with Sakura-chan because you cared about what your clan elders thought, or because you didn't want to be with her."

He waited for her to finish, letting his eyes gravitate to his feet.

"You broke up with her because your elders didn't approve, and you didn't want to cause harm to the other side of your family by choosing to stay with her."

Slowly he looked up at her. "I always knew you were a closet psychic."

Her shoulders lifted in delight at being right. "What can I say? I'm multi-talented."

He sighed. "How did you even know? I didn't tell _anybody._"

She looked at him incredulously. "How could I not know? You love her possibly more than I love designing clothes for her – and that's a _lot_. So I thought to myself, when she stayed at home for a week holed up in her room after you broke up with her – why did you do it? It definitely couldn't have been because you stopped loving her." She blew air out of her mouth in a sound similar to _pfft_. "I knew that couldn't be the reason. So what could possibly be reason enough to have you break things off with her?"

"Deductive reasoning," he commented, appraising her for her intelligence. "Good for you, Daidouji."

She waved the compliment off. "Please, Li-kun. I'm aware of my awesomeness."

He stretched out his arm, allowing her to continue.

"And while we're on the subject," she carried on, sounding irritated, "why _didn't_ you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell _me_? Or better, why didn't you tell Sakura-chan? She would've understood! She would've—"

"Never accepted the fact that I could never be with her," he finished for her sadly. "She would've ended up waiting for years for something that would never come back to her. I couldn't let her do that. And I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me. I never have. Why start then?"

Rolling her eyes again, Tomoyo dumped the clothes that were in the hamper into the laundry machine, shut it closed and turned a knob. The quiet house came to life with the rumbling noise of soap and water tossing their clothes around.

"_Men_," she groaned in irritation, shaking her head and walking away, deeming the end of their conversation.

He shook his own head; not knowing which of them had actually won the argument. As he walked back into the direction of his guest bedroom, he stopped when he heard Tomoyo's voice call out to him.

"And for the record, Li-kun," she told him. "I wouldn't say you never came back. You're here now, aren't you?"

Damn that Daidouji Tomoyo. Why did she always have to be right?

_**xxxxxx**_

When Syaoran emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, he wasn't sure of what to do with himself. Had Tomoyo already finished with his laundry while he was in the shower? He was only in there for fifteen minutes, which was longer than his usual five minutes, but the hot water helped him mull a lot of things over.

Coming round the bed, he saw that folded neatly in the center of his mattress were a fresh shirt and pants, probably another shirt of Sakura's brother or father. Tomoyo must have come in his room while he was in the shower to give him something to wear that wasn't wrinkled.

He toweled off for the next few minutes, drying quickly and combing his hair. When he thought himself presentable enough for Sakura, he took one last look in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall and took a breath. He put his hand on the doorknob and peaked outside. He heard sound coming from the kitchen.

Upon coming down the steps, he saw Sakura with an apron on, cutting bread slices and spreading what looked like butter on them. Tomoyo was squeezing juice out of some oranges and monitoring the brewing coffee. Feeling unsure of himself, he made his presence known with a quiet, "Ohayo."

Sakura looked up from the bread slices and smiled brightly at him. He stopped for a moment to take in her adorable stance and stunning morning smile and tried to catch his breath. Before she could notice the blush on his cheeks, he took a seat on a barstool at the kitchen island.

"Ohayo, Syaoran-kun! Did you sleep well?"

He nodded, even though he hadn't really slept at all. "Yeah, thanks. Can I help at all?" he asked, making a movement to stand up and take up a chore.

Both Tomoyo and Sakura shook their heads, insisting that he, the guest, shouldn't do anything at all and let them do the work. Reluctantly he obliged and watched them as they went about their work.

They worked quickly, slicing, stirring, spreading and chopping with almost no effort. It seemed as though most mornings went on like this, which would explain the ease of their movements. It was like routine to them.

They sat a plate down in front of him and as they walked passed to get something from the fridge or put something on the stove, they would drop a neat, delicious looking sandwich in front of him, put a glass next to it and then fill it with some freshly squeezed orange juice. He knew not to begin until they were both seated with him. It was only a few more minutes until the two girls, now in their normal attire and not wearing the aprons and bandanas that protected their hair and clothing, had joined him.

Together they said "itadakimasu" and began their meal.

Syaoran intended to eat slowly so as to spend as much time with Sakura as possible. But as soon as she and Tomoyo had gotten their hands on their food, he noticed that they were going about it rather fast.

"Um… what's the hurry?" he asked, the sandwich suspended just before entering his mouth.

They looked up at him as they continued chewing furiously and taking sips of their juice. "I'm going to the studio and I want to beat the traffic," Tomoyo told him, looking at her watch briefly.

Well, that explained why she was in such a rush. He looked at Sakura.

She stopped eating upon noticing his stare. "I have somewhere to be."

"Oh… well, okay. Where do you—?"

"The meal was great, thanks Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said suddenly, standing and bringing her dishes to the sink. She dropped them in with a clatter, poured some coffee into a thermos and ran up the stairs.

Syaoran watched in wonder as she fled. When he turned back to Sakura to give another shot at making conversation with her, she had already stood as well, bringing her plate into the sink and walking into the foyer to grab a pretty pink coat.

"Are you both—?"

"I'm sorry, Syaoran-kun. I have to catch my bus."

Silently he cursed the useless Rolls-Royce that was still parked on the side of the road. If it were't for the flat, he would've been able to offer her a ride, thus granting himself some more alone time with her. But it wasn't, and he couldn't just invite himself to wherever she was going. It was rude and, in his mind, desperate.

Still, he was concerned for her meeting, or whatever it was that she had to attend. Her tardiness was notorious in Tomoeda. "Daidouji, you can't give her a ride?" he called out, as she was still upstairs.

Tomoyo came bounding down the steps, her purse over her shoulder and her hair now in a high ponytail. She joined Sakura in the foyer where she began to fit on her heels. They shared the mirror in the hall and fixed their hair and appearances before stepping out.

"Sakura-chan takes the bus while I take the car to work. I'd drop her off, but it would be going out of my way from the studio. Just relax, Li-kun. We _have _done this before. We know what we're doing."

After forgetting for a little while, he was then bluntly reminded that he in fact had been away for too long to know how anything in their lives worked anymore. And though he wasn't aware of it, it would be the first reminder of many that he would be given throughout the day.

"Will you be okay here, Syaoran-kun?" they asked as they continued to prepare themselves before going out.

He nodded, leaving his place at the island to stand with them in the hall. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine. I didn't know you guys would be going so soon, if I did I wouldn't have bothered with breakfast or my clothes—"

"Oh!" Tomoyo cried, "Speaking of which, your suit is washed and ironed, it's just hanging in the laundry room now. You can get it yourself, can't you, Li-kun?"

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course—"

"You can help yourself to anything you want," Sakura told him as she did the strap on her heel. "And if you plan on leaving the house, there's a key under the mat that you can use to lock the front door. We'll see you in a bit!"

"Sure, um – no problem—"

They had waved and said, "ittekimasu" before he could get another word out. And then, before he knew it, they had gone out the door and he was alone. He felt himself thinking, did time fast forward?

He scratched his head in wonder and walked back to the island, the silence comforting him somewhat. He resumed with his breakfast, grateful that even though he didn't get that much face time with Sakura, he now had even more time to figure out what he was going to do during his stay in Japan and what exactly he was going to do about his feelings for her.

He ate slowly by himself, enjoying the silence. And he was grateful for it – no matter how short lived it might have been.

"HEY!"

He nearly fell out of his seat, looking like a complete fool as he struggled to regain balance. He looked to his right and saw a floating, yellow stuffed toy, staring up at him with black dots for eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" it asked him.

"Do you mind?" Syaoran asked with irritation, restraining the urge to swat the thing away.

"I asked you a question, gaki," Kero replied, folding his arms and taking a sitting position in mid-air.

"And I'm trying to eat breakfast," he rebuffed, looking at him through slanted eyes and trying to focus on his meal. Again he asked, "Do you mind?"

"Not really," Kero answered lightly, flying across the island countertop and coming to rest just before Syaoran's plate. He picked up the other half of his sandwich and began eating. Syaoran rolled his eyes at his rudeness, but what else did he expect from the always-hungry Beast of the Seal?

"I was going to eat that," he said monotonously.

"Oh, were you? Oopsy," he responded sarcastically, cheeks stuffed.

Not wanting to argue so early in the morning, Syaoran let it be and shared the rest of his breakfast with Kero, not that he had much choice. He was just helping himself to whatever was on his plate, leaving barely enough for Syaoran to eat for himself.

"Does she know you're back?" Kero asked after a few moments. Syaoran didn't need to ask in order to know to whom he was referring to. "Or did Tomoyo do some covert operations and sneak you back in herself?"

"She knows I'm here," he answered. "I wouldn't have come back here and hid from her like a coward."

"Brave," Kero commented shortly, adding, "We'll see how long that bravery will last you if her onii-chan finds out you're here."

Syaoran gulped but said nothing.

"What are you back here for, anyway? Your clan send you on some confidential Li family business?"

He shook his head. "No. I need Sakura's help. She'll explain it to you. I don't think I have the patience to think about it or deal with you right now."

Kero shrugged. "Okie dokie. And the brat?" he asked, meaning his cousin Meiling, of course, to whom Kero was also acquainted with and liked to tease just as much as Syaoran.

"Not here," he answered. "I came alone."

They continued to eat in silence for a while until Syaoran decided to ask what had been on his mind for the last several minutes.

"Are they always like that, every morning?" he wondered out loud.

"Like what?" Kero asked, sounding bored while continuing to stuff his face. "Busy? Energetic? Gone before you can even sit down and begin your breakfast?"

Syaoran nodded.

"Pretty much."

"Oh."

Kero shrugged. "It's not so bad," he told him. "You get used to it. And then I get the house all to myself. It's mostly weekdays that they do this though, and on the weekends they aren't so fast paced. There's a process, you know. You just haven't been around. If you stayed, you'd still know her and her routines inside-out."

"Are you suggesting I don't?" Syaoran asked with mild insult and curiosity. The plush toy wouldn't say something like that if there weren't any truth behind it.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting, genius. You have no idea what these two are up to anymore. Or should I say – you don't know what Sakura's like anymore. She's the same all right, but things _have_ changed about her – things only someone like _you_would notice."

"What do you mean _someone like me_?" he scoffed.

"I mean like someone like you, who is still pathetically in love with her."

Syaoran nearly choked on his bread. "Excuse me? I'm not pathetically in love with her!"

"But you _are _in love with her."

Syaoran opened his mouth to retort but closed it almost immediately. "That is neither here nor there."

"Whatever," Kero said to him out of the corner of his mouth. "None of my business."

_Damn right it's none of your business_, Syaoran thought to himself as he pouted over his food. Why did everyone seem to know that he still had feelings for Sakura? Tomoyo knew, Kero knew… who else would know – the mail man?

"So…" he began quietly, trying not to seem too curious. "What's she like now, anyway?"

Kero shrugged. "Like I said, same as usual. But she's changed quite a bit since you last saw her – what? Ten years ago?"

"Like how?" he asked again, eager to know.

Kero repeated his shrug. "I don't know. She's a bit better in math. Her cooking has improved. She reads more."

"What else?" he coaxed, wanting to know every last thing about her to make up for his near decade-long absence.

Kero didn't seem to mind his questions. He continued, answering, "She works two jobs, one as a hostess in a restaurant in town, the other as a storekeeper of a gift store. She doesn't cheerlead anymore but sometimes she volunteers to coach high school squads if they're in need. She's just finished her last semester of school and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life."

She had accomplished so much and had so many responsibilities. If he hadn't broken things off with her, would she still be as successful? No, he thought. She wouldn't be. Because she wouldn't have been able to live this life if he'd stayed. She would have been too occupied waiting for him. It seemed like ever since he left, she was able to be more than she could be – he guessed that maybe it really was best that he left all those years ago.

He was an intruder to this new life of hers. Though he didn't expect things to be the same since he had last been to Japan, he didn't really think things would be so different. Sakura, better in math? Reading more and cooking better? Balancing two jobs as well as school? _Not_cheerleading anymore? It seemed surreal – almost like those changes had been magically created.

Hell, anyone would have thought that these were all very minor changes – things that were hardly significant enough to take notice of. But like Kero said – only someone like him would notice such things. To someone who used to know her inside-out and every single detail of her life – to him they were all big deals and _very_big changes.

He sighed, dropping his fork and suddenly losing his appetite. The whole house suddenly seemed like glass, and he felt as though he shouldn't have been inside, but on the outside of it, looking in on her and all the things he'd missed because of his decision to leave.

He realized suddenly that like the glass house, her new life was delicate – easily breakable. And Syaoran was the stone that could cause everything to shatter.

His eyes to the floor, he asked a question to which he already knew the answer. "She's happy?"

Kero nodded. "Of course she's happy. She's Sakura."

The response made the most sense to him more than anything he was just told.

Trying to move on and accept that he was really just an intruder on the outside looking in, he wanted to switch topics quickly.

"So which work did Sakura go off to?" he asked. "The restaurant or the gift store?" Perhaps, when he was through with his meal and getting redressed, he'd stop by to eat and be served by her, or to buy something from her store.

"Tomoyo went to work. She goes to her studio every morning. But it's Sakura's day off today."

"Oh," he said, confused. "Well… where's she gone to?" he asked.

"It's a Friday morning," he replied. "What else does she do on a Friday morning?"

Syaoran gave him a sarcastic look. "How should I know? I haven't been here very long to know what her weekly routine is – like you said."

Kero stopped eating (finally) and looked up at him with a blank face. "Oh – er – did Sakura not tell you?"

He returned the stare. "Tell me what?"

Kero paused, taking a moment to stretch and position himself so that he was sitting with a straight back on the table, his arms folded sagely. His eyes were closed. "I'm going to play video games."

"What?" Syaoran asked, genuinely confused.

"You should talk to Sakura. She'll be home in a few hours."

In a few hours? Syaoran couldn't wait that long. What was it that he wasn't being told?

"Can't you just tell me yourself?"

Kero already had his back to him. "See ya."

Syaoran frowned. He couldn't wait that long. He'd probably go insane with the curiousity. But he knew there was no beating it out of Kero, especially if he could transform into a giant beast at any time he wanted.

So he stood up, intending to distract himself by going out and occupying himself with something and return to her home in a few hours like Kero said, to have that talk with her. But what exactly would he do?

He thought for another moment and realized he needed a change of clothes and go back to his hotel. Some of his clients and business partners might have called for him while he was out for the night and it was best that he returned and deal with whatever issues they had.

"Fine. I'm going to my room to get changed and then I'm leaving," Syaoran announced.

"Whatever," the Beast of the Seal replied, already half way up the stairs.

"But I'll be back later!"

"Don't care."

"If she's not home yet, you better let me back in the house."

"Use the key under the mat."

"Lazy."

"Gaki."

Syaoran shook his head, walking to his guest bedroom and shutting the door, annoyed to know that of all the things that changed, the one thing that had to stay the same was his bantering with Kero.

**xxx.**

**Author Notes:**

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to be receiving all this positive feedback, I sure hope I don't disappoint in later chapters!

At this time I would like to address some questions/comments that I came across in my reviews.

1 – _Will Eriol be in this story?_ Wait and see, my lovely readers! That may sound like a sneaky yes, but I guarantee nothing!  
2 – _How long will you take to update?_ Because I have written many chapters ahead of time, my usual update expectancy can be applied. For those of you who forgot or don't know what that is, it just means that I will only take 7-10 days to update, maximum 14 days.  
3 – _How long/how many chapters will this story be? _It will be a decent length, not too long, not too short. Is that too vague? Good, because I want it to be! If this answer does not satisfy the curious reader, I will only add that it is more than ten chapters, less than twenty.

That is all for now. Please leave me a review if you enjoyed this chapter! And if you didn't, well… I'd love to hear from you, anyway!

For other news and updates in my life/story writing, please visit my profile.

Before signing off, I would like to once again say – _this one is for you, Swallowingtears_! Trust me when I say, I was a fan of yours before you even knew I existed. Hats off to you, my dear.

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	4. Revelations

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter four!

**Casting Shadows**

_Revelations  
_

Syaoran returned to his guest bedroom after first retrieving his suit from where Tomoyo left it in the laundry room. She had done a clean, quick job with it, and it looked as though he'd never worn it before. Tomoyo really did work magic with clothes – maybe, if he let her, she could do the same thing with his unfortunate situation with Sakura.

He changed quickly, throwing the clothes he borrowed into the hamper and taking all that he'd brought with him, which wasn't much. When he was ready to walk out of the house, he had only his coat on him and his shoes. Leaving her home felt extremely weird, and it only reminded him that after a nearly ten year long absence, he had come back so quickly and abruptly, changing everything.

Or at least, that's the way it felt. He rudely disrupted whatever existence or lives his old friends led in Japan – and maybe that was a good thing. Or maybe it was bad. Whatever it was, he was sure he was about to find out later that afternoon.

He left without saying goodbye to Kero, walking out the door into the bright sunny day. The rain left puddles and dew dripping off of leaves everywhere, so it was rather mucky outside. But other than that, the weather was as gorgeous as ever, but it didn't really lift his mood. Not that he was ever in a good mood.

He was on his cell phone in the next second, walking through the Daidouji property and trying to get a hold of a taxi service as well as a tow-truck. Neither was very hard to reach, and only after five minutes did he have a way to get back to his hotel, and someone to take care of the useless Rolls-Royce that was still on the side of the road.

Syaoran took his time with the walk, finding no need to rush. He had lots of time to kill before he saw Sakura again, and to ask what exactly it was that she hadn't told him yet. But, if she didn't tell him right away last night, maybe it wasn't even any of his business? Maybe she didn't tell him on purpose and he should probably just let it rest.

But his curiosity was peaked, and he wasn't sure if he could last so long without knowing.

He shook his head, arriving at the spot where he parked and found that neither the tow truck nor the taxi had arrived yet. It was only a short minutes' wait before the taxi came first, and leaving the keys of the Royce under the seat of the car like he was instructed, he got in, ready to make a game plan for how exactly he was going to spend the rest of his stay in Japan.

_**xxxxxx**_

The taxi was comfortable and not like the other ones of Japan. Technically, it wasn't even a taxi. The car was from a car services company he did business with before, and because they were good clients of his, they gave him a number to use if he ever needed a private ride. What he was currently seated in was more like a mini limousine, with comfortable leather seats, a small selection of drinks in a compartment on the side and some wine glasses.

The ride to his hotel was short enough. Time seemed to fly by in fact, what with all that he had on his mind. He was surprised, even, to realize that they had arrived. When he got his wits about him he emerged from the sleek black car, thanked his driver and gave a generous tip, not that it was even necessary. But with the money he had, he could afford to give a hefty amount here and there.

The hotel he was staying at was called the Yoshida Tower. If it wasn't Japan's finest hotel and resort, it certainly was among the best. There were plenty of Yoshida Tower chain hotels in the different countries he traveled to. There were some in North America, and he in fact took up residence in the penthouse of one of those Yoshida Towers. They were extremely comfortable and luxurious. Living there was like living back home in China again, with all his servants and maids.

He walked through the glass doors of the hotel and entered the lobby. Approaching the front desk, a pretty blonde girl with her hair up in a bun smiled flirtatiously at him, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

"Welcome back, Li-sama," she said, her voice as smooth as her actions.

He nodded in response, ignoring her stare completely. "Any messages for me?"

"Yes, sir," she told him, giving a few sheets of padded paper to him. "A few of your clients would like to have a word with you." He nodded again. He knew they would try to contact him. It was a good thing he never gave out his personal contact number or they'd be bothering him the whole trip. "They said that if you're busy on this vacation of yours that you could get back to them whenever you were able."

"Anything else?"

"Two more messages from some women," she told him, her voice lower and rather huffy. "Li Meiling," she announced, and paused. "A relative, I assume?" she asked, trying to be subtle as she tried to find out whether or not he was seeing anyone.

Not that it was any of her business, he answered, "Yes. My cousin."

Her smile grew visibly brighter at this news. He wanted to snort. If only she knew that he used to be engaged to the girl – hell, if only she knew that his heart was already with someone else, and that it had been for a very long time.

"The other girl?" he asked somewhat impatiently.

"Oh – yes," the receptionist said, snapping out of her dreamy stare into his eyes and answering, "A Daidouji Tomoyo called for you a few minutes ago."

His head snapped at this. "She did? How did she know I was staying here? Did she say what she wanted?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, sir. She just said that it was important that you call her back right away."

He felt impending doom. For what reason, he had no idea.

"All right. Fine. Thank you," he told her, picking up his coat from where he'd laid it across the desk and walking towards the elevator.

She sighed dreamily. "Have a good day, Li-sama!"

The elevator first sounded with a short ding before opening to allow him entrance. Upon entering, he quickly pressed the 'P' button for the penthouse suite and held the door open for two ladies that clearly wanted to take the elevator as well. They pressed the floor number that they needed to reach and saw the capital 'P' highlighted. They stared at Syaoran, impressed.

He ignored them to keep himself from glaring.

When they finally left the elevator, he was alone, waiting to reach the top floor of the tower. It took a while, but he guessed a long wait was the price one had to pay for choosing to stay in a penthouse suite.

When he entered his suite, all was how he had left it: neat, tidy, and his clothes still in the closet and drawers. He realized he'd unintentionally made himself feel at home in this particular suite, the same way he'd done in the other penthouse of the Yoshida Tower he'd been living in for quite some time, over in North America. He wondered if that was his the work of his subconscious, telling him to make his visit a long one.

Sighing, Syaoran sat down on the edge of his bed and took out his phone. He stared at it for a while, trying to decide who exactly he should call first. His business partners and clients could wait, so it really was just a choice between the two girls. Meiling, or Tomoyo? Well, both of them were a big pain in the neck, and they both always told him what to do. Who, exactly, was the lesser of two frighteningly girly evils?

He pressed speed dial number four, deciding upon Meiling. Mostly because she was family, and also because he wanted to avoid whatever berating he just knew Tomoyo had to unleash upon him.

After a few rings, Meiling picked up. "Syaoran?"

"Hi," he said, stretching himself out on the bed. Suddenly the sleep he never got from last night was starting to catch up with him. "You called?"

"Yeah," she said, for once sounding calm and not high strung. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh," he answered shortly. "Well, I'm doing just fine."

"Oh," she repeated, sounding hesitant. "That's good."

There was a short moment of silence before she spoke again, talking with deliberate slowness and cautiousness. "And… Kinomoto-san?"

He knew it was only a matter of time before she would ask. "She's fine."

"Ah," she breathed. "So you finally found her. That's good. And have you told her about your little problem?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I told her. I also worried the crap out of her and Daidouji. Then I spent the night at their house because of the rain and some scheming on Daidouji's part. Listen, Meiling, I'm really tired. Can I talk to you later?"

"You stayed at her place?" she asked, sounding excited. "That's great! Would you give Daidouji-san a pat on the back for me? Oh, if only I was there with her, we'd be doing a much better job of getting you two alone. It would be just like the good old days!"

"Meiling," he sighed, rubbing his forehead to prevent a headache. "We're not kids anymore. You and Daidouji need to stop playing around and acting childish."

He could already sense that she was pouting over the phone. "Well someone has to give you a shove in the right direction towards Kinomoto-san. We all know you won't do it on your own."

He pretended not to have heard what she said. "I'll talk to you later. Bye, Meiling."

"I'll call you later." The heavy eye roll was evident in her tone.

He hung up, groaning. It was a while before he remembered he had to call Tomoyo afterwards. He suddenly didn't feel like doing it, but if he didn't return her call, what would happen afterwards might actually be worse than actually returning it.

Taking the piece of paper with the number she'd left for him, he dialed and waited for her to reply.

"Daidouji Tomoyo," came her voice.

"Hi," Syaoran said hollowly. "It's me. You asked me to call?"

"You!" she said, sounding furious. "What took you so long to call me back? I called the house to make sure you stayed there, but Kero-chan told me you had already left! Why did you leave? Are you at your hotel now?"

He stared at the phone a moment, bewildered. When he put it back to his ear, he was terribly confused. "You never told me I had to stay, Daidouji. You even said yourself this morning if I wanted to leave, I—"

"Are you _at your hotel_?"

"Yes!" he answered; affronted by the way she was raising her voice, when he really had done nothing wrong at all besides return to his hotel. "How did you know I was staying here, anyway? I don't think I mentioned it last night—?"

"Oh _no_," she groaned. "I knew you'd have to be staying at that hotel – why would you settle for anything less? It just occurred to me when I arrived at the studio, you'd probably go back there to get a change of clothes! Oh, why, _why _did you have to choose a five star hotel and resort to stay at? Why that one?"

"Daidouji," he told her, trying to calm her down. "What is the matter?"

"I'm driving over right now," she said, sounding determined.

"What?" he asked, "You're driving right now?"

"Yes," she answered, "I'm on the road heading to your hotel right now. We'll go out to eat or something. Wait in the lobby for me. Wait – forget I said that – not the lobby! Get out of your hotel room and wait for me on the corner of the street! Wait – no! Is there a fire escape exit? Take one of those!"

"I'm on the highest floor, I'm not taking a fire escape!" he exclaimed, ready to hang up on her if she continued to talk crazy. "Daidouji, what is going on? What is the matter?"

"Just get out of the hotel, okay? Or better yet, stay where you are!"

"Daidouji—"

There was a short rapping on the door. He looked over his shoulder at the sudden noise but returned his attention to the phone conversation, knowing he had found a way out of it. "Listen to me, I don't know what's going on why you're so worried, but just tell me when you get here. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby, all right?"

"Wait, Li-kun—!"

"I have to go, Daidouji, there's someone at the door. See you in a few minutes."

"Li Syaoran, if you hang up this phone you are _so dead_—"

He didn't let her finish. He ended the conversation, shutting his flip phone off with a snap and tossing it over his shoulder, onto the bed. He shook his head, trying to shake off the anxiety that the conversation had just caused him and walked over to the door to see whoever it was that came to call on him. It was probably room service or a maid or something.

He swung the door open wide but was not greeted with any type of service. Standing in the hall was a complete stranger – and a handsome one at that.

"Yes?" Syaoran asked, trying not to sound rude.

"Hi there," the man with dark black hair greeted charmingly, holding out his hand. "Li Syaoran?"

Syaoran took the hand with some hesitation bust still shook it firmly. "Yes?"

Upon the confirmation of his identity, the man smiled wider, giving him a view of two blindingly white, perfectly aligned rows of teeth. He grasped Syaoran's hand tightly, giving it a good shake and letting go for a moment to give a short, but polite bow.

"It's nice to meet you, finally. My name is Yoshida Kaito. I own this hotel."

"Oh," Syaoran answered, realizing who exactly this man was. "I see. It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the hotel owner answered, "Li-sama?" he asked, wondering whether or not he had used the proper suffix that Syaoran would prefer.

He shook his head, insisting that "-kun" was fine. It would be too weird to have someone who was obviously equal to him in wealth and stature to treat him as a superior.

"Li-kun, then," the man said cheerfully. "May I come in?"

Syaoran nodded quickly, stretching out his arm and allowing him to enter, though technically he didn't need to. If the man owned the hotel, he really didn't have to ask permission to come inside. But it was good to know that he at least had manners.

"It's great to meet you," Kaito told him, seeming to take up a lot of room in the spacious living quarters, what with his broad shoulders and daunting height. He was actually more or less as tall as Syaoran was, but having two men as equally fit and built as these two men were seemed to crowd up the whole room.

"Er…" Syaoran began, "same to you." Though technically, he didn't really care much for meeting him. He had always thought that the owner of the Yoshida hotels was an old businessman, not a young tycoon like himself. But for the sake of being polite, he continued. "I stay at your hotels frequently. They really are among the finest in the world."

Kaito shook his head, looking truly bashful. "Do you really think so? Thank you, that means a lot. I work very hard to make them thrive. I'm glad the Yoshida Tower is something successful businessmen like you can find worthy of a home."

Syaoran was never very good with praise, especially not after hearing so much flack from the elders, growing up. So it made him rather uncomfortable to hear Kaito compliment him in such a way.

"Oh, well. Thanks."

"I have to say," he told him, beginning to pace the room and looking out the large windows to the incredible view before him. "I'm a big fan of yours! I've heard of your work and everything you've done to become what you are. I've always known that you stay at my North American location. When I heard that you finally decided to make a trip up here to Japan to stay in the tower that is my headquarters, I just had to meet you."

Syaoran shrugged. "Yes, well… your hotel is always my first choice."

Kaito turned around to smile kindly at him. "Thanks a lot Li-kun, that's very kind of you to say."

There was a pause between the two, for it was clear that they had both said what they needed to say. After another moment or two, Kaito flashed his pearly whites once more and walked past Syaoran to the door, stopping just before he opened it.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," he apologized, grasping the knob and holding the door open just a crack. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Syaoran shook his head at the apology. "Not at all."

Kaito's smile grew kinder. "I'm glad that we could finally meet. If you'd excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

"Of course," Syaoran answered, actually quite relieved that he didn't have to humour this strange, but obviously kind and caring man. "I hope I didn't keep you," Syaoran couldn't help but to add diplomatically. He felt as though he needed to be up to par with the man's formalness and politeness.

"Oh no, not at all," he answered, stepping halfway out the door. "I'm meeting my fiancée for brunch, you see. But she almost always shows up late."

At that, Syaoran couldn't help but to smile. It reminded him of the way Sakura was often tardy, whether it be for class, a meeting, or one of their dates.

"Please let me know personally if there is anything I can do for you to make your stay here more enjoyable," Kaito told him before leaving completely.

"Sure," Syaoran told him, giving a short nod and shutting the door.

He stared at the door before him, a blank expression on his face. The short meeting with Yoshida Kaito was awkward – at least, for him it was. And yet it was somewhat of a pleasant time. The man was obviously very distinguished to have accomplished so much at a rather young age. He couldn't be more than twenty-six or seven, the same age as Syaoran. Anyone who could match up to him, he _had _to respect.

He shook himself away from his thoughts, taking a look at his watch. Tomoyo would be arriving at the hotel soon. Dreading whatever scolding she had to give him, he picked up his phone from his bed and saw that he had three missed calls from her since they had last hung up. He blinked a few times. Whatever she had to say to him, it must've been important.

He quickly got dressed in a fresh suit and tidied his hair as best he could. Straightening his jacket he left and took off down the hall, hitting the re-dial button on his phone to get a hold of Tomoyo. When she picked up, she was even more furious than she was the last time.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm late," he told her as he approached the elevator. "I'm on my way down."

"I'm not there yet," she ground out, "I got stuck in traffic. But I'm nearly there. I'll only be four minutes!"

He wanted to roll his eyes at her for being so exact with her timing, but it wasn't as though it were anything new to him when it came to Tomoyo. "Okay. See you soon."

"Wait! I'll meet you up in your room. You said you were on the highest floor, right?"

"No need, Daidouji. I'm getting inside the elevator right now, I'll see you on the main floor."

"What? You are? I thought I asked you to stay in your room. Can you get off and go back? Or take a different exit?"

"Daidouji, don't be ridiculous. I will see you in the lobby."

"Li-kun, I'm telling you, you need to meet me—"

"The elevator's about to go down, Daidouji. I might lose the signal. I'll see you in four minutes, all right?"

"Li-kun, don't hang up on me again—!"

He had already hung up and was in the elevator. He pressed the "L" button for lobby and hoped that there would be many people getting on and off so that he'd have to put off meeting Daidouji. Though to be quite honest, he was a little bit eager to see her to know what exactly the problem was and what it had to do with him.

It appeared that he was the only one to be taking the elevator at the time, so the ride down was quick. As he waited for the doors to open, he braced himself to be greeted with Tomoyo's rage for having hung up on her twice. When the elevator finally sounded with a sharp _ding _and the doors slid aside to allow him into the lobby, he was greeted instead by someone else.

Sakura sat in one of the lobby chairs, her legs crossed elegantly and the outfit that she had on from that morning still looking ridiculously adorable on her. She was holding a bag of what looked to be snacks or something, and she was staring off to the side, completely oblivious to him standing just a few feet before her still inside the elevator.

"Sakura?"

She smiled just before turning to face him, but when she saw who exactly had called her name the grin fell away completely, only to be replaced with surprise and – did he see panic?

"Syaoran-kun!" she exclaimed, standing up quickly. "W-what are you – why are you –?"

Syaoran could feel himself smiling at the sight of her. Just seeing her always put him in a good mood. "Did you come to see me?" he asked.

Her eyes fell to the floor as they roamed restlessly within their sockets. "O-oh… um… not exactly—"

"I'm so glad you're here," he said, walking up to her with the intention of standing very close to her. "You left so quickly in the morning. I was hoping we could—"

"Sakura!" another voice boomed from across the lobby. They both turned to see who had called her name.

Walking forwards to meet her was Kaito, looking absolutely ecstatic to see her. He didn't seem to notice that Syaoran was there. In fact, Syaoran wasn't even sure if Kaito knew that anyone else was in the _same room_. The way he stared so deeply into Sakura's eyes and placed such a sweet, delicate kiss upon the lips that Syaoran had once kissed – it certainly seemed as though he didn't.

It was only when they parted did Kaito even start to realize that there were other people around. When he turned to face Syaoran, that same, charming, pleasant smile was upon his face. But Syaoran wasn't even looking at him. He couldn't take his eyes off of Sakura and the way she looked so distressed.

"Sakura," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I see you've met the famous Li Syaoran!" He faced Syaoran happily and presented Sakura to him sounding both proud and excited. "Li-kun, this is my lovely fiancée, Kinomoto Sakura. I mentioned her upstairs?"

It took everything inside of him to form a coherent reply. "O-oh… y-yes. Of course. How could I forget." There was no upward inflexion to his question.

"I'm so glad you could meet him, Sakura. Li-kun is one of my most faithful clients. He frequents my hotels all the time. He's practically a permanent resident at my North American location!"

"H-hoe…" Sakura breathed, and Syaoran wondered if she felt as choked up as he did. "I-is that so…?"

Suddenly, through the glass doors came bursting through a harried looking Tomoyo, glancing everywhere for where she might find Syaoran. He sighed. Now he knew why she'd wanted him to leave the hotel so quickly, and what exactly Sakura did every Friday morning and why Kero didn't want to say. It was clear that she met her fiancé for brunch every Friday morning.

"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said, spotting Tomoyo and sounding relieved. "What are you doing here?"

Tomoyo looked positively dismayed that she had not come in time to get Syaoran out of there, before he could witness Sakura and her soon-to-be husband greeting each other in the lobby. She took a moment to firmly release a short exhale and approached the three of them, ready to break any and all tensions, as she was very used to doing.

"Hi there, Sakura-chan," she said, sounding perfectly at her ease, despite knowing the underlying issues that were just scraping their way to the surface. "I was just meeting Li-kun here for an early lunch."

"Hi Daidouji-san," Kaito greeted, smiling at her kindly. "I didn't know you knew _the _Li Syaoran."

Tomoyo returned his smile and shrugged. "Yes, well… we're old friends."

"Oh, really?" he asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. "How do you know each other?"

Tomoyo really didn't want to have to answer. This wasn't her mess to clean up. But either she did, or Sakura would have to. And she knew how Sakura must've already been suffering, just by being in the same room as both Kaito and Syaoran, and how distraught she must've been feeling. She steeled herself and forced herself to do it instead.

"Er – well. You see… we're friends from school."

Kaito laughed, hugging Sakura tighter around the shoulders. Syaoran stared as she tried to smile up at him, but noticed how she failed miserably. "Really! Sakura, you must know him too, then?"

Sakura swallowed, as if she were preparing herself to answer, but again Tomoyo answered for her. "Yes, she does. Li-kun, Sakura-chan and I went to grade school and high school together."

"Oh, I see – how nice! This really is a small world, isn't it?"

Tomoyo laughed with no cheer. "Unforunately."

Kaito inclined his head forward, "Sorry?"

"Nothing," Tomoyo chirped brightly, taking Syaoran by the arm and literally dragging him to the glass doors of the hotel. He couldn't seem to stop staring at Sakura, nor could he find it in himself to move. "Li-kun and I should get going now. We'll leave you two to have your brunch. I'll see you back at the house, Sakura-chan!"

"Oh, wait, Daidouji-san," Kaito said suddenly, reaching out for her. "Is there any rush? Do you have reservations for anywhere?"

"We do, actually—"

Seeing where Kaito was going with the question, Syaoran spoke up. "No. We don't, actually."

Both girls turned to face him, eyes wide and expressing different feelings. Sakura's emerald pools were simply shocked and confused, whilst Tomoyo's amethyst ones were hostile and threatening.

Kaito grinned. "That's great! You two could have brunch here in the hotel restaurant with Sakura and I," he suggested, already showing the way.

"Kaito-kun," Sakura said quietly, tugging on his arm and speaking for the first time since Tomoyo arrived. "Maybe we shouldn't… we would ruin their plans."

"Not at all," Syaoran said.

"Don't be silly, Li-kun," Tomoyo said through gritted teeth, pulling on his arm though there wasn't any use. He might as well have been an anchor. "We made plans ourselves. We can't intrude on their date."

_Oh yes we damn well can, _Syaoran thought.

"You wouldn't be intruding at all! Really, I insist. You all can catch up and Li-kun and I can get to know each other."

"Yes," Syaoran agreed, already following where Kaito led. "I would enjoy getting to know you very much, Yoshida." His tone of voice, if not intimidating, was flat.

"Likewise!" Kaito said cheerfully, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder.

Syaoran stared down to where Kati's hand rested on his shoulder and had the strong urge to count to three. If he did not let go of him by the time he reached three, he had half a mind to body slam him.

But before he could even reach one, he was no longer being held, and he felt bitter at having missed a reason (no matter how stupid it might have been) to seriously harm the man that was engaged to be married to the one person he loved most.

_**xxxxxx**_

"I—"

"Told you so," Syaoran finished for Tomoyo as they followed Kaito and Sakura to the hotel restaurant. "I know."

"Well," Tomoyo said indignantly, "I _did_."

"You couldn't have remembered to warn me about this earlier? Couldn't have come to my hotel earlier or stopped me before I got there?" he whispered hot-temperedly, despite knowing that that was exactly what Tomoyo was trying to do. He did feel guilty for talking to her so angrily, but he was jealous and heated, and he wanted to take that out on somebody.

"Don't you take that tone with me, Li Syaoran," she hissed back, trying to be as discreet as possible. "You're just angry that Sakura-chan is with somebody. But what did you expect? For her to stay single forever? For her to wait for you? That was why you broke up with her, Li-kun. So that she wouldn't, and so that she could move on. Isn't it?"

He already felt lower than low, but Tomoyo was doing a really good job of kicking him while he was down. He sighed, knowing that she had a point and that she was right.

"I don't recall seeing that engagement ring when I was with the both of you last night and this morning," he said, the anger still not gone from his voice. He was glaring so fixedly upon the clear cut diamond that he very well could have created a deformity in it.

"Of course she wasn't, she never wears it when she's jogging," Tomoyo explained hurriedly, afraid they might be losing the privacy of their conversation. "She wasn't wearing it this morning either because, well... I guess she didn't want you finding out the wrong way."

He grunted. As if the way he had just found out moments ago was any better than noticing a ringer on her finger. The actual way in which he discovered her engagement was in fact, far worse.

As they walked over to the greeter who instantly recognized Kaito and allowed him and the entire party past his podium, Syaoran watched the couple in front of him with narrowed eyes, trying to hear what they were saying to one another. Kaito's arm was still annoyingly around Sakura's waist, and she seemed to be smiling at him.

"Oh, Sakura," he heard Kaito say, "I'm sorry, I know you brought some sandwiches for me. But it's all right; I forgot to pack a late lunch today anyway. I'll take these for later. What would I do without you?" he asked, kissing her on the cheek. Syaoran could feel his cheeks turn green for being jealous, and also for being sick at the sight of them as well.

She laughed, letting him take the bag from her and wrap his arm tighter around his waist.

By the time they were all seated at a table that was very private to allow them to talk, Syaoran couldn't help but be impressed with the interior design. If he thought the Yoshida Tower that he stayed at while he was in North America was all razzle and dazzle, this Japanese one was above and beyond that. He might as well have been dining in a palace.

"What would everyone like to eat?" Kaito asked, the kind smile still on his face as he passed out the menus.

Syaoran took his, glaring at the oblivious fiancé to Sakura.

"If there are any special orders, feel free to make them. The chef won't mind."

"He won't?" Tomoyo asked.

Kaito laughed. "Not if he knows that the orders are from me and my friends."

Syaoran wanted to scoff at this. If they ever had a chance of being friends before, there were none now.

Sakura opened her menu up quickly, holding it before her face as if she wanted to hide it. She began to speak, wondering aloud which meal she wanted to order from their breakfast and brunch section.

"I am craving a plate of eggs," she said.

"With salsa on the side," Syaoran added. "Or do you not like your eggs like that anymore, Sakura?"

She lowered her menu by an inch and giggled nervously. "H-hoe… um… yes. With salsa on the side."

Kaito looked to the two of them, grinning from ear to ear. "It's funny, isn't it?" he asked Tomoyo and Syaoran. "How she likes her eggs with salsa. I've never tried it before. Well, I did once. She made me try it when she brought me breakfast at my office once. It wasn't too terrible. But then again, I had to say that. She made me." He laughed jokingly, giving his fiancée a wink.

Syaoran's glare grew more potent. "Do you still like your tea with mint leaves and the special herbs from the shrine?"

Sakura nodded with a smile, as if pleased to know that he could remember such a minor detail – but he remembered everything about her. "Yeah, it's still my favourite," she answered.

"It's too bad you can't get a hold of them anymore since you don't live by the shrine," Syaoran continued. "I have people that could get some for you, though, if you like."

"That's really nice of you, Syaoran-kun," she said, still smiling at him but now looking a little guilty, though she had no reason to be. "Actually, Kaito-kun gets me a hefty supply of them every time I run out, so there isn't any need…"

Kaito shrugged with a small smile on his face still. "I'd hate to see her go a day without that special herbal tea. She's so addicted to it; she might actually become a kaiju if she doesn't get any of it in her system!"

Tomoyo laughed at the joke while Syaoran held back the urge to growl.

"You sure do know a lot about her," Kaito commented, waving over a waiter that stood not too far off.

"I certainly do," Syaoran answered, sure that he was still the one that knew her best, even if he wasn't her fiancé.

Kaito chuckled again. "Well, that's just like Sakura to be an open book."

The waiter came and began to strike up conversation with Kaito and Sakura. Apparently he was very familiar with the two and waited on them often, because they both asked how he and his family were doing, and they carried on that way for a few moments until they placed their orders.

As they did so, Tomoyo held up her menu and leaned sideways to speak privately with Syaoran.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing?" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

As he glared at Kaito, Syaoran answered, "Nothing. I'm just talking. Is there a problem with me talking?"

"Yes," she said, looking angered. "There's a problem with it if all you're going to talk about is how much better you know Sakura-chan. Can you just relax? We can talk about it when this is all through. I'll explain everything."

Still glowering in Kaito's direction as he spoke with Tomoyo, Syaoran said, "So he doesn't know about me and her."

"Of course he doesn't know about you and Sakura-chan," she answered slowly, "She never brought you up and Yoshida-kun has never asked about any ex-boyfriends. He probably thinks he's her first one. And you better keep things like that unless Sakura-chan decides to tell him otherwise herself. Understand, Li-kun?" she asked in drill-sergeant fashion.

He scowled at her but nodded. Ending their engagement with that bit of information seemed like a good idea to him – but no doubt Tomoyo – and more importantly Sakura – would be very upset with him if he did.

"And the cards? Does he know about that?" he queried.

Tomoyo's mouth formed a straight line. He had obviously struck a nerve by asking a question that related to both Kaito and her magic. Looking none too happy, Tomoyo answered in a hushed tone, "No. They've been dating for two years and she hasn't told him a thing. Ever since the engagement, I've been telling her to let him in on it, especially if she's consented to spending the rest of her life with him."

Syaoran was pleased to know that no matter how much in love Sakura might have been with Kaito, she still for whatever reason didn't find him special enough to clue him into the most important aspect of her life. He was still the only man she shared that secret with. And knowing that she wasn't ready to tell him yet was a comforting thought.

Though he had wanted to continue on with their discussion, it was cut short by the voice of the polite waiter, who had apparently been trying to get Tomoyo's attention.

"Miss?" the waiter asked, interrupting their conversation. "Your order?"

"O-oh," Tomoyo said, blinking a few times. "Your… er… soup of the day and a side salad, please."

"Very good, miss," the waiter answered. "And you, sir?"

"I'll have what he's having," Syaoran answered solemnly, nodding in the direction of Kaito. In truth, he had no idea what Kaito had even ordered, or why he even wanted the same thing to eat as him. Perhaps it was because he wanted to show Sakura that he looked better eating it?

He was being stupid, he knew that. But what could he say? He always did stupid things when it came to Sakura and other men.

"So," Kaito said briskly, leaning back in his chair and smiling around the table.

"So," Syaoran repeated, leaning forward menacingly. Kaito didn't seem to notice it. "Tell me about yourself, Yoshida."

The way he said it sounded as though he were interviewing him for a job position.

Kaito laughed. "Should I? Maybe I shouldn't. I wouldn't want to bore everyone at the table."

With no humor in his voice, Syaoran replied, "Yes. You should."

For the first time throughout the entire exchange, Kaito was confused. Syaoran had just gotten so sick and tired of his cheery attitude and his kind and polite behavior that he couldn't help but to make his voice a little snappy. He guessed it was only a matter of time before Kaito caught on that he had a problem with him.

Shaking off the cold stare that he was being given by Syaoran, Kaito grinned once more. "Well… I graduated university when I was twenty-two," he answered somewhat unsurely, not knowing where to start. He offered it up as if he was wondering whether or not it was good enough for Syaoran to begin with

"And?" Syaoran prompted. He felt Tomoyo cringe beside him.

"Well, after that I immediately went to work beneath my otou-sama, accompanying him every day to work and all his business meetings. It was my training, so that when I came to inherit the family business, I'd be prepared. So there wasn't a lot of 'living the good life' in my early twenties," he laughed, joking about his lack of social life. "I've been working almost my entire life. Coming from my family, a vacation is almost unheard of."

Syaoran wanted to snort. He didn't know what real work or training was unless he was a member of the Li family.

"When my otou-sama passed away three years ago, it all became mine. Though, technically I had been running it for him for years when he first fell ill, so it actually felt like it was mine for much longer."

Syaoran wanted to scoff at all of what he'd just said, wanted to belittle it or even make fun of it. But how could he? All of what Kaito had just said was actually quite remarkable. Graduating on time from university, working under his father in one of the finest hotels of the world and running it while also sacrificing going out and having fun? Syaoran knew what all of that felt like, having to work hard and not enjoy yourself. He had to admit that it was all very impressive.

"Those are…" he said, finding it difficult to say the next few words, "quite the accomplishments."

Kaito smiled modestly, obviously as shy as Syaoran when it came to receiving praise, which irritated him. "Thanks, Li-kun."

Quietly, maybe even timidly, Tomoyo added, "Yoshida-kun isn't the stereotypical kind of heir that parties all day and night and doesn't work for their inheritance. He graduated at the top of his class and works his butt off every day. It's a wonder he even makes any time for Sakura." It was as if she wanted to assure him that Kaito was in fact a good guy. Though it felt more like she was rubbing it in his face.

"I don't like to talk a lot about myself though," Kaito cut in, looking bashful after what Tomoyo had just said. Syaoran spotted Sakura, staring proudly and even wistfully at him the same way he'd stared at her earlier in the lobby. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Li-kun? I'm sure a lot has changed since you've all seen each other."

Again, Syaoran wanted to snort. He really had no idea what was going on beneath the surface.

But no matter how much Kaito didn't like talking about himself, Syaoran didn't enjoy giving his life story all the more. In fact, he never spoke about his life, ever. Not to anyone. And he especially wouldn't do it in front of Tomoyo or Sakura, after all that had changed in his life when he left Japan almost ten years ago.

"My life is pretty boring, actually," he said dismissively.

"That can't be true," Kaito insisted.

"It is. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh, please, Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked, leaning forward with bright, attentive eyes. He wanted to be glad that at least she wasn't staring at Kaito so mesmerizingly anymore, but he just knew that they were holding hands under the table. "Tell us how you've been! Is life as a clan leader treating you well?"

"Clan leader?" Kaito echoed, looking confused. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but… Li-kun isn't a clan leader. Right?"

Syaoran's breath caught.

The two girls laughed briefly at Kaito's statement. "Of course he is, Kaito-kun," Sakura giggled, "he was destined to be the leader since he was a baby. I'm pretty sure he must have inherited the title by now."

"But he isn't a clan leader," Kaito insisted, looking to the two girls with his eyebrows raised, as if trying to get them to believe him. "Really, he isn't. Unless I've been sorely misinformed – but I'm not… am I, Li-kun?" he asked with genuine curiosity in his tone of voice and eyes.

Syaoran's breath was still hitched. "I—" he began. "I… I don't think my life story is very good table conversation. Maybe it would be best to—"

"Wait, I'm confused," Tomoyo interrupted, also sitting up straighter in her chair with a puzzled look in her amethyst eyes. "You're still the clan leader, aren't you, Li-kun?"

He couldn't bring himself to make the slightest of movements, not even to nod or shake his head.

Sakura, looking even more bewildered, stared at everyone at the table, with her gaze falling searchingly upon Syaoran's nervous eyes. "Well, of course he is. He has to be, it's the reason why he—" she stopped in mid-sentence and Syaoran knew why. She wanted to say, "That's why he broke up with me" but couldn't possibly do that with her oblivious fiancé sitting at the same table.

Instead she finished with, "That's why he left Japan." Which wasn't exactly a lie.

"No, no," Kaito laughed. "How could you two not know? I know his story, mostly because all us businessmen do, but you two went to school with him. I thought for sure you would have known. But I guess you guys really must not have kept in touch since then."

"His story?" Tomoyo said, ignoring the way Syaoran was obviously beginning to get extremely uncomfortable. "What story are you talking about, Yoshida-kun?"

"It really isn't anything worth telling," Syaoran said, trying not to sound desperate.

"Do you want to tell it, Li-kun?" Kaito asked, "Or would you rather I did?"

Actually, he preferred if _no one _told the story.

"It's probably best not to talk about it over brunch—"

"_You _can tell us, Kaito-kun," Sakura answered for him, looking extremely invested into the discussion. There was no stopping it now.

Almost as if he couldn't believe the fact that they didn't know, Kaito began, speaking as though he was storytelling of a great and exciting adventure. Which really, it wasn't.

"Well, his story pretty much starts when his family went broke."

With the simple statement of the lack of his family wealth, the girls' chins had already reached the table.

"_What_?" Tomoyo asked. Excited now that he had their full attention, Kaito continued. And there was nothing Syaoran could do to stop him.

"He had to put himself through school and worked all kinds of jobs to pay for it and to provide for his okaa-sama and onee-samas. He graduated early with a degree in business and foreign affairs and climbed the corporate ladder until he got to the very top. Which, by the way, is where he still is right now." Kaito joked, though no one was laughing. He continued by saying, "He's worked with some of the finest companies and businesses all around the world. He's got to be one of top business men in all of Japan and China!"

Neither girl could find it in them to speak. Neither could Syaoran.

"Li-kun," Tomoyo said breathlessly. "That's… that's _amazing_."

Syaoran was standing, ready to leave the table. He hadn't planned on telling them. He had wanted to keep it from them for as long as possible.

"It is," Kaito agreed earnestly, "that's why I just couldn't believe that you two knew him. He's _famous _in the business world for abandoning his duty as the clan leader to gain independence and emancipation. For you guys, he may be an old classmate. But to everyone else, he's Li Syaoran – the legendary runaway!" he laughed.

Still there was no one to join him in his laughter.

"You're… you're not the Li clan leader?" Sakura asked, staring into his eyes with shock and disbelief in her voice.

He didn't respond. He just stood there, staring down at the table and wishing he could reverse time.

Kaito looked embarrassed suddenly. "Did – did I go into too much detail? I'm sorry… really. I know I tend to talk too much when I get excited, I shouldn't have gotten so carried away."

Syaoran shook his head at the apology, feeling resigned. He had enough reason to hate the man. But he couldn't be angry for what he just did. It wasn't his fault that the girls found out. It was bound to happen.

He could feel Sakura's eyes on him.

"Syaoran-kun…"

"I think I'll go up to my room."

"But Li-kun, our food hasn't even arrived yet…" Tomoyo said.

"Thanks, Yoshida. I'm sorry I can't stay."

"O-oh," he said, startled. "It's not a problem – is there something wrong? I'm sorry if I—"

"No. Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired, suddenly. I'm the one who's sorry. Really, I am."

"Syaoran-kun, please—" Sakura began, moving to stand up.

"I'll be in touch."

He bowed shortly before making his exit. He could feel them staring bewilderedly after him as he walked in swift, purposeful strides away from the table. There was no getting out of this one – sooner or later he would have to explain why he was not the clan leader. And when that time came he wasn't sure if he or anyone else would be prepared for the explanation.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes: **A love triangle, yay! Or nay? :P

Well, most of you guys guessed it – Sakura is seeing someone new! I didn't really intend to make it a surprise or anything. Having such smart, wonderful readers like yourselves, I knew a majority of you guys would pick up on the hints.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. How convenient – the review box is right there, down below! Do you see it? Isn't it just so shiny and pretty and _lonely_? It's begging you to write a comment inside of it!

Hoping you all are well!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	5. Things Unsaid

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter five!

**Casting Shadows**

_Things Unsaid_

Tomoyo, Sakura and Kaito remained in their seats as they watched Syaoran take long strides away from their table, as if he was in a rush to be rid of their presence. No one quite knew what to say – especially not Sakura, who had just been hit by the discovery that Syaoran was not in fact the Li clan leader, and that he had abandoned the title by choice.

"I'm so sorry," Kaito said after a moment of awkward silence. "Did I say something to upset him? I'll go up and apologize to him right now," he said resolutely, getting up from his seat and making some movement to follow after the clearly troubled Syaoran.

Sakura placed a calming hand on top of his own and he stared at her in wonder. "No," she said softly. "I think I should go and talk to him." Slowly she rose from her seat, and it appeared that she had done so with mixed hesitation and apprehension. Upon seeing this, Tomoyo shook her head.

"No," she said, this time putting one of her own hands upon Sakura's. "I'll go talk to him. But not right now. Like he said, he's probably just tired."

"Are you sure?" Kaito asked uncertainly, looking clearly distressed over what he might have said to upset Syaoran. "If it was something I said, I should apologize right away, shouldn't I?"

Tomoyo laughed breezily, trying to ease both Sakura and Kaito's worries. "No, no. Li-kun is fine, honestly. You should have seen him in grade school, always stomping off in the other direction for no reason at all just so he could be by himself. He's like this all the time – really. You don't have to worry, Yoshida-kun. And neither should you, Sakura-chan," she said softly to her best friend.

Both Sakura and Kaito nodded in reluctance at her words. Kaito, though not entirely keen to letting Syaoran go without apologizing first, even though according to Tomoyo's explanation no apology was even necessary, he at least seemed to be convinced of the explanation. Sakura, however, seemed only to agree remain where she was only because Tomoyo insisted that she did.

But Tomoyo was sure of what she had to do. She couldn't possibly let Kaito have a private discussion with Syaoran over what was said at the table. Syaoran might get careless and spill the beans about his past relationship with Sakura. Even more than that, Syaoran would probably just scowl and frown at Kaito no matter how kind and polite he was. The simple fact that he was going to marry Sakura meant that he'd be getting poor treatment from Syaoran, no matter how good of a man he was.

And there was definitely no letting Sakura talk about it with Syaoran – at least, not right away. Tomoyo needed to debrief Syaoran and hear the explanation he had yet to give. She had to know what had happened all those years ago before she could even begin trying to fix the messy love triangle. And she just knew that if there was anyone Syaoran wanted to talk to, it would be her. Her counseling would do him good.

So she seated everyone at the table once more and began conversation about work, movies and plans they had made for the week to distract them all from the Syaoran issue. Hopefully they'd both do as she asked and leave both he and the topic of his clan leadership alone until she had the chance to speak to him first.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran laid on his bed, stretched out with his hands behind his head, eyes closed. For the past three days he had been speaking with his clients and business partners over the phone and computer conferences, making and breaking deals, negotiating contracts and doing what he usually did as a businessman.

It was all he could do to distract himself from the events that occurred those three days ago. But no matter how much he absorbed himself in his work or how many movies he ordered to watch on the TV, there was always the image of Sakura being kissed by her soon-to-be husband, Yoshida Kaito at the front of his mind.

And it was more than he could bear, knowing that he was taking up residence in one of his suites. All this time, when he'd been staying overseas in North America and some places in Europe at the Yoshida Towers, he had practically been fraternizing with the enemy! Had he known that the man who owned the hotels was the same man who was going to marry Sakura, he never would've booked himself the rooms.

But how could he leave now? He'd grown so accustomed to the Yoshida Tower. It was his immediate, go-to place whenever he travelled and did work abroad. He practically _lived_ in the one in North America. He really wasn't lying when he told Kaito that it was always his first choice. Not to mention, he didn't want Kaito to get the idea that he was moving out because of something he did – even though that was actually the case. It would just be better if he were able to keep him from thinking things like that – for Sakura's sake.

But after three days of work, Syaoran had pretty much finished all of it. For the last hour he had in fact been calling up his clients and partners himself, asking if there was anything he could do for them. That just gave them all the impression that he truly was a considerate, hardworking, serious businessman that wanted the best for the people he worked with. Instead of giving him things to do, they gave him endless praise and insisted he take a vacation and do nothing else.

He was so desperate for something to take his mind off of Sakura's engagement that he was actually considering calling Meiling. She had been checking up on him daily, at least once a day for a short phone conversation, usually late at night in his time zone to see how he was doing after he had told her about how Sakura and Tomoyo found out. But it was only starting to get dark and he knew she wouldn't be contacting him for another few hours. Still, it wouldn't hurt to maybe call her himself.

And then suddenly, as if reading his mind from all the way in China, his cell phone began to vibrate. He wasted no time in picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Are you feeling better?" asked a voice that was definitely not Meiling's.

"Daidouji?" Syaoran asked, pulling the phone away from his ear to stare at it briefly.

"Hi, Li-kun. Are you feeling better?"

He paused before replying. "I'm just fine. What do you want, Daidouji?"

"I think you should come over to the house."

He felt like snorting. "Of course you do."

"I'm not kidding, Li-kun," she said seriously. It sounded as though she were walking. "I can pick you up and bring you over to the house. We can talk about things on the way there. I'll take the long route. What do you say?"

"I say thanks, but no thanks," he responded, already prepared to hang up on her.

"Well," she said stubbornly, "I'm not leaving this lobby until you come down from there."

He sat up quickly on his bed, and asked with some surprise, "You're here at the hotel?"

"Yup, just got here. Now come down here before Yoshida-kun sees me waiting for you, or even worse, sees you on your way down and tries to apologize for what happened at brunch. He'll insist on making it up to you and coming along with us when we drive over to the house. We can't have him there with us, obviously."

Syaoran couldn't agree more, but found himself sighing anyway. "Can't you just come up here?"

"Why?" she scoffed, "So you can avoid seeing Sakura-chan for another day? Not on my watch, Li-kun. You and I are going to talk in the car, and then you and Sakura-chan are going to talk when we get to the house. All right?"

"Come on, Daidouji, can't we just—"

"Don't make me come up there and drag you down here, Li Syaoran," she interrupted in one of her more motherly, scolding tones, "don't think that I won't!"

"All right, all right already," he answered in resign, hanging up on her and getting up from his bed. If he was going to see Sakura afterwards, he had to make sure he was looking at least decent. So he made a quick change of clothes, combed out his hair and put on a new jacket for his suit. After a brief glance in the mirror, he left his suite and took off down the hall.

After waiting for just a few moments for the elevator to arrive on his floor, he stepped inside and waited to reach the lobby. Few people came in and out of the elevator so he was expecting to arrive there soon. Just upon landing on the fifth floor from the lobby, the doors slid aside to allow a man entrance, and he saw with some shock and discomfort that it was Kaito.

"Ah, Li-kun!" he boomed, obviously happy to see him.

Syaoran tried to smile but couldn't get his lips to form anything other than a flat line. Well, at least he wasn't scowling. "Yoshida," he greeted quietly.

"I'm glad to see you. I've been meaning to make a stop by your suite, but there are a bunch of conventions and conferences going on at the hotel that have been keeping me really busy. How is everything for you?"

"Fine, thanks," he answered simply.

"Are you sure?" Kaito asked, somewhat cautiously, as if not wanting to pry. "The last time we spoke at brunch a few days ago… you left so suddenly, I was afraid I did something wrong. If I did, I really am sorry—"

"No, really, I'm fine. You did nothing," Syaoran interrupted as he kept himself from adding, "other than propose and intend to marry the girl I love."

Kaito seemed relieved. "Daidouji-san tried telling me the same thing, but I wanted to hear it from you. I'm glad you're all right," he said, smiling.

Finally they arrived on the main floor and when the doors parted they both saw Tomoyo waiting just by the entrance. Kaito smiled brighter at her and gave a short wave before stepping out with Syaoran to say hello to her.

"Hey Daidouji-san, what are you doing here?"

She returned his grin but Syaoran knew she wasn't very glad to see him, since she didn't want him tagging along with them like she said he would want to do.

She pointed to Syaoran. "Li-kun and I are just going to go for a drive."

"Ah, I see," Kaito answered, nodding his head. "Are you two going over to the house later?"

There was a short pause in which neither Syaoran nor Tomoyo answered him.

"Well," Tomoyo said, "actually—"

"I wish I could come, but the hotel needs me right now," he explained, making it easier for her. "I'm in the middle of doing my check-ups with the staff. I've got a meeting in a few minutes actually, so I should get going!"

There was no more need for Tomoyo to be apprehensive about his presence there since he clearly wasn't able to go along for their drive. So she was back to her usual self, smiling kindly and being sweet. "Oh, that's too bad! Sakura-chan and I will just see you later then?" she asked.

Kaito smiled and nodded, "Definitely – hopefully you too, Li-kun?"

Syaoran replied with a curt nod and gave a short wave of his hand.

"Remember," Kaito told him as he began to walk away, "if there's anything I can do to make your stay here more enjoyable, let me know, okay?"

Syaoran felt the strong urge to say, "All right, sure. Then break things off with Sakura." But of course, did not.

Soon he and Tomoyo were left alone, staring at his back as he left to join his staff meeting. Together they turned to face the lobby doors and walked into the cool evening air, Syaoran following Tomoyo's lead since he did not know what her car looked like.

As they walked in silence, he decided to ask the question that had been bothering him since he met Kaito, "Is he always that nice? Doesn't he ever stop laughing or smiling?"

Tomoyo gave a small smile at this. "Rarely."

Syaoran grunted. "It's annoying."

Shrugging she answered, "You don't seem to mind when it's Sakura-chan who's all smiles and laughter."

He glared at her through the corner of her eyes and stopped before a black Jaguar, which Tomoyo rounded and unlocked with her key. Before entering Syaoran gave the car a quick once over, impressed by the vehicle. It probably came from one of the car companies that he did work with.

"Nice car," he commented.

"Thanks," she said, fastening her seatbelt and waiting for him to do the same. "It was a present from my okaa-sama. No changing the subject, though. You've got some explaining to do."

He sighed. "I wasn't trying to change the subject, Daidouji."

"Right."

"I wasn't!"

"I'm not hearing an explanation, Li-kun," she said in a melodic voice, as if she was both teasing him and scolding him. She began to back out of her parking spot as she waited for him to begin. She had already pulled onto the road, taking the long route as she said she would, before he had started to talk.

"I don't know where to begin," he told her honestly. "And there isn't really much to say. Yoshida pretty much said it all."

She thought she would start the conversation as an interview, if only just to get him going and on a roll. "Okay – well, tell me this. You really went broke, then?" she asked.

He averted his gaze, though he was not ashamed about his former lack of wealth. In fact, he was proud of it, proud of the fact that he was able to become what he was without the financial aid or connections of his elders. But he just didn't feel right dredging up the past like he was doing with Tomoyo. He had tried hard for many years to put the events of which he was about to explain to the back of his mind.

"Yeah. I did. I had enough of the elders bossing me around and making me train from dawn 'til dusk. I wasn't happy. So I decided to leave. And the deal was, if I left, I'd renounce my title as the future Li clan leader, and with it all the money we had invested with them and my entire inheritance."

"And when did this happen?"

He pretended to think about this before answering, but the truth was that no matter how hard he tried to forget, he remembered everything as if it were yesterday. "About three years into my training. I wasn't even halfway through with it. But I just couldn't finish what I'd started. I was unhappy," he told her again.

"So you left," she summarized in short.

He nodded. "So I left."

"And then?"

"And then…" he began uncomfortably. "Well, like I said, Yoshida pretty much said it all. Leaving pretty much put my family out on the streets. My okaa-sama was too old to work and without the money of the clan, we couldn't afford to keep Wei – but he stayed with us anyway. I took up some part time jobs and so did my onee-samas. But I didn't want everyone suffering, all because of a decision that I made. So I mostly took it upon myself to provide for everyone. I couldn't let them work and toil over the things that happened all because of my choice to leave."

Tomoyo understood him entirely. It was completely in his character to take on everyone's hardships.

"I'm sorry, Li-kun," she said quietly, glancing at him briefly before returning her eyes to the road.

He shrugged, not so good with receiving sympathy, the same way he was with praise.

To switch topics and so that he wouldn't have to be on the receiving end of anymore of Tomoyo's sympathy, he said, "I worked for a year with as many jobs as I could. I cleaned cars, bathrooms, waited tables, bagged groceries… you name it, I did it. By then I was able to make our ends meet and I was able to attend university. It came out of my own pocket, but my okaa-sama and Wei had a hand in helping pay for tuition, too. There was some money that they had between the two of them to help."

"So that's when you studied your butt off and got that degree in business and foreign affairs?"

Syaoran nodded. "I abandoned the clan, worked, studied, and now I'm here. There really isn't much more to say about it."

Tomoyo nodded a few times. And then, just as Syaoran knew she would, she narrowed her eyes and gave him a knowing look. "What else are you not telling me?"

"Nothing," he insisted.

"Oh, _really_."

"_Yes_, Really."

"Okay," she said, stopping the car at a red light and staring in his direction with the same heat and intensity of the sun itself. "So you mean to tell me, you left and abandoned your title as Li clan leader, leaving your family poor as dirt, all because you were unhappy?"

"Yes," he answered. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, yes, sort of," she answered sternly, "You would gladly suffer through the rest of your training and the elder's poor treatment if it meant the people you cared about wouldn't be put through hardship. You don't like to hear it – but you're selfless, Li-kun. You would never do that to your family just because you were unhappy. We all know that, Li-kun. There _has_ to be more to this."

He remained silent.

"You didn't just leave because you were unhappy, did you?"

"Yes I did," he muttered.

She was smiling now. "You left so you could go back to Sakura-chan!"

"I left because I was tired of being their puppet and tired of being treated poorly by them," he snapped, a tone of finality in his hard voice.

"_And_ because you were still in love with Sakura-chan and wanted to go back to her."

He didn't reply.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Syaoran sighed, deciding that there was no point in trying to hide the truth from her anymore. She already knew, and what she didn't know she would probably guess correctly as their conversation went on. And anyway, he had already been careless and let slip about his past the first night he'd met with her in their home. He might as well tell her so she could stop making him look like a poor liar.

"The first thing I did after giving up my title was come back here," he admitted quietly. He heard Tomoyo's tiny gasp of surprise as she drove onwards. "I just couldn't go on without her any longer. I told myself that I _could_, and that I could be the clan leader like my family needed me to be so that we wouldn't end up in the poor house, but… one day, I decided that I'd just had enough."

Tomoyo continued to drive and listen in quiet awe as he revealed to her what he had really done the moment he chose to leave.

"I spoke to my okaa-sama about it. She encouraged me to leave. She said we could make our own way, and that she was tired of them treating me poorly, too. She said it wasn't worth it anymore. So with her blessing… I left. With no word to the elders or anyone else other than my immediate family. I didn't even tell Meiling."

"And you came back," Tomoyo said, the joy clear in her voice. "Oh, Li-kun. You came back, I _knew_ you came back for her."

"Of course I did," he said quietly. "With the little money I had that wasn't with the clan, I bought an airline ticket and got on the first flight out to Japan. I didn't even pack a change of clothes or anything. I just needed to be with her again. When I landed, I went straight to her house even though I wasn't even sure if she was still living there. I guess it didn't really matter, because nobody was home. So I went to your house and one of your servants told me you guys had gone out on a girl's day, just the two of you, to do some shopping downtown."

Out of her silence, Tomoyo gave a low groan. "Oh no…" she breathed. She knew exactly what he was talking about, the moment he mentioned the girl's day, and what must have happened that caused him to leave Japan, once again, without making his presence known to either of them.

He knew why she was becoming upset. He continued anyway. "I was walking downtown, stopping in at every store that I happened to walk by to see if you two were in there. And then through a boutique window, I saw you two taking clothes from a rack. I had found her so fast – I thought it was fate." He scoffed slightly at mentioning fate, seeming bitter. "I walked inside and was ready to try and win her back, but then—"

"You heard her," she interrupted. "You heard her, didn't you?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

His thoughts flew back to that bright, sunny day downtown in the boutique where he had found Sakura and Tomoyo. Across the way and through the boutique store window, he could see Tomoyo smiling, as she usually did around clothes, with longer hair and looking a bit taller. Next to her with her back turned to him was Sakura, her hair also somewhat longer and just a smidgen taller than when he'd last seen her. They were walking to the back of the store to the fitting rooms.

His heart pounding, he raced across the street, nearly getting run over by the oncoming cars, but paid neither the drivers nor the vehicles any heed as he made a bee line straight for the boutique door, bounding inside, panting and shaking with anxiety. The other store inhabitants were staring at him curiously, but he ignored them, following where he'd last seen Tomoyo and Sakura enter into the back of the boutique to the fitting rooms.

He could hear Tomoyo's voice, only a quiet murmur from where he stood. Slowly he approached, ready to make his presence known by calling out her name and pulling aside the curtain that separated her from him. But then, suddenly, from inside the fitting stall he heard a noise that made him stop dead in his tracks. Soft, restrained cries – similar to the ones he had heard three years prior.

"He left and he's not coming back," he heard Sakura say. They were the first words he had heard come from her mouth in years. "He left and he hasn't tried to call, or write, or contact me. It's been three years; did you know that, Tomoyo-chan? Three years today. I feel like I… I think that it's time to give up, but I – but I—" at this point, her sobs were no longer being held back, but freely released.

His hand fell limp at his side, though he knew all he had to do was barge in and show her just how much he missed and loved her. But something inside him made him stop and listen before he did anything rash. How could he interrupt her at a moment when she was confessing what she truly felt about his departure and how she had been coping since then? By hearing whatever she had to say would decide whether or not he would reveal himself to her at that moment, or simply wait until later in the day so that she could calm her nerves.

"Oh, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo soothed, "please don't cry. Of course I know today marks three years. It's why I took you out, to keep you from thinking about him. But you can't give up, not after waiting all these years. He'll come back to you, I know he will!"

"He won't," she sobbed, her voice brittle and cracking everywhere, "after three years, I know he won't. I'm kidding myself. I've wasted my time, Tomoyo-chan. I've been so stupid. He doesn't even want me."

He wanted so badly to prove her wrong. He would _always_ come back for her. He already _was_ back for her. But her doubting words kept him at bay.

"Sakura-chan please," her best friend continued. "Don't say things like that. You love Li-kun, he had his reasons for leaving you—"

"But I wasn't reason enough for him to stay," she said sadly. She sighed. "His elders were right. I wasn't good for him. I was holding him back. And I know that now. He tried to tell me before and now I'm going to listen to him. I'm through with it all – with the waiting, the pining and the crying… through with him. I just can't do it anymore… if he came back right now, I don't think I'd even be happy to see him. He's put me through too much, Tomoyo-chan. I just can't – I can't do it anymore."

His heart clenched.

"I think you're speaking out of foolishness, Sakura-chan. You don't mean any of that."

"But I _do_, Tomoyo-chan. I understand now that he had to do what was best for him." She said this with kindness in her voice, with understanding and compassion. She clearly wasn't upset with him or angry with him… in fact, he was sure that she didn't feel anything for him. Not anymore. "Now, I have to do what's best for me. Ne, Tomoyo-chan?"

The sniffling and the crying had disappeared. The cracks in her voice were starting to vanish as her normal, cheerful tone of voice returned. "I'm sorry I brought it up with you. I know you were just trying to cheer me up. Starting now, I'm a new girl! I don't need him – really. I mean… I'm not one hundred percent, but I'm nearly there already. This talk really helped, Tomoyo-chan – thank you. Now let's just try to have a good time today, okay?"

Tomoyo said nothing, and he didn't have to pull the curtain aside to see that her face was not approving of the words that were coming out of Sakura's mouth.

"Here Tomoyo-chan, I'll try on that top you picked out for me. Will you hand it to me?"

"Oh, sure…"

Syaoran didn't stay to hear anything else. He had heard all he needed to know. What was the point in making it known that he was there? How could he have possibly changed her mind about him when she was so determined to move on? When she had already _begun_ to move on?

He turned slowly and walked out of the fitting area, his eyes cast down and his heart still back there with Sakura where she sat, putting on a happy face despite the fact that she was still hurting inside. And as he exited the boutique to return to the airport, he never looked back once, not even when he was still in the store about to exit, to notice that Tomoyo had peered out from one side of the curtain curiously, as if expecting to see someone standing there.

Back in the car with Tomoyo, Syaoran felt lower than ever. He hated to think about that moment when he heard Sakura proclaim she was "through" with him. He had hoped after all the time that had passed that perhaps she didn't mean it, perhaps she had listened to Tomoyo, but _clearly_ she moved on. Clearly he had been replaced by Yoshida Kaito.

"Talk about fate, huh?" he asked, in that same bitter voice. "I guess it really was fate – but I was wrong about what it was doing for me. It wasn't fate that I saw you two right away. It was fate that I overheard her say all those things."

Tomoyo was chewing her bottom lip. "What happened afterwards?"

"You can't guess? The elders found out about my abandonment and wouldn't have anything to do with me. They had already cut off my okaa-sama and my onee-samas. They nearly cut off Meiling too because she was so close with me. But that's why they won't help me with this strange presence or anything else. I can't bother them about money issues, family issues, not even magical issues."

"Oh, Li-kun…" Tomoyo said sadly.

He shrugged and attempted to smile, but only lifted one corner of his mouth. It was all he could manage at the moment. "It's all right. It doesn't matter now. Thanks for sticking up for me the way that you did though, Daidouji."

She laughed lightly. "It was nothing. I've always been team Syaoran and Sakura."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "So you really don't want her marrying Yoshida?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "Well, if she had to marry anyone that wasn't you, Yoshida-kun would be my first choice. I know you don't want to hear this, but he's kind and sweet and spoils her silly. He loves her a lot and is the perfect gentleman. But with you two… I don't know. I just know in my heart that he shouldn't be with her – that you should be, instead."

Sometimes it was really hard to be annoyed with her – especially when she said things like that.

"Well, thanks for your vote of confidence, Daidouji," he said. "But I don't think it counts for anything. She's 'through' with me, remember? She's engaged to marry Yoshida. And let's face it – I've screwed up enough things in her life."

"You have to tell her you came back for her, Li-kun," she insisted as they began to pull into the driveway of their home. "If she knew, she would—"

"She wouldn't have been happy to see me, like she said."

"Li-kun, we both know she didn't mean that."

"It doesn't matter." As she pulled into their garage and parked the car, the silence between them was a sad one. When they both got out of the vehicle, he took her by the arm and told her seriously, "Don't tell her that I came back, okay? She doesn't need to know. It will just make her feel bad."

"But… Li-kun…"

"Don't tell her. All right?"

Tomoyo huffed. "All right, fine. But you have to talk to her. She has questions of her own, you know."

"Fine."

Together they walked inside the house after exiting and closing the door to the garage. As the door opened, Tomoyo announced that she was home and that she had brought with her a guest, though Sakura probably already knew who it was.

Approaching from the kitchen she came, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and Kero floating at her side. She smiled at him. "Hi, Syaoran-kun!"

His heart melted just seeing her dressed so adorably. "Hi, Sakura."

"We were just checking on the cupcakes Tomoyo-chan put in the stove earlier. They're just about done. Want to help put on the icing?"

"Sure," he said.

Tomoyo grinned at this. He could see in her eyes the plan forming in her head to get them alone for that private discussion she so badly wanted them to have.

"I have some last minute things to do with a design I have up in my studio. Kero-chan, would you mind helping me out? I need you with your amazing expertise in fashion and clothing design," she told the plush toy with heavy exaggeration, which he took as completely serious.

"Sure thing!" he exclaimed, zooming up the stairs before turning once to glare at Syaoran and Sakura. "Don't even think about eating the cupcakes without me," he warned them.

Syaoran glared. "Typical Keroberos behavior. Let others do the baking and only come when everything is all ready to be eaten."

"Shut it, gaki, don't make me come down there and—"

"Now, now," Sakura said lightly, smiling at the two and taking Syaoran's wrist, which shut him up and softened his glare immediately. He let her lead him into the kitchen where she put on big, pink oven mitts and took from beneath the stove a batch of chocolate cupcakes. The aroma was almost as unsettling as being alone with Sakura.

She handed him a squeeze bag filled with pink icing and told him to have at it. Unsurely and not exactly the artistic type, Syaoran then began to make careless, pathetic looking doodles atop the tops of the cupcakes.

Sakura watched him for a moment and giggled. "Pretty," she said.

He looked into her face and thought, _Not as much as you_.

She began making little squiggles and swirls on top of the cupcake that she was working on. After a short silence in which Syaoran spent just staring at her and the way she looked so cute, concentrating on a fairly simple doodle, Sakura said, "I told Kero-chan all about the weird feelings you've been having, and what's been happening to you in your dreams."

"Oh," Syaoran breathed. "Have you?"

She nodded without stopping the decoration of her cupcake and continued, "I wish I could tell you that he came up with something right away. He's been thinking about what it could be these last three days we haven't been in touch, but he doesn't have any idea." She stopped icing and stared up at him with an apology in her eyes. "We're still trying to contact Yukito-san, though," she added, so that he might not lose hope. "It's hard to reach him, what with him on that dig with onii-chan, but we'll be in contact with him and Yue-san any day now! Most likely tomorrow."

"Oh," he said again. "That's good."

Silence lapsed between them as Sakura once more gave her attention to the task at hand. She began again, this time using a voice that Syaoran could tell was coated in forced nonchalance, "Speaking of these last three days… I, um, hope you're doing all right. You left sort of quickly at brunch the other day."

He stopped with the decorating. "Oh… right…"

He didn't continue. It was hard to think of what else to say in explanation when he knew she was expecting one. Though he knew he should've been, he wasn't prepared at all for this conversation.

"Syaoran-kun," she said slowly, when he said nothing else. She hesitated with her squeeze bag and chanced a glimpse into his face. "Were you… were ever going to tell me? That you weren't the Li clan leader?"

He sighed quietly, setting his own squeeze bag down. "Yes, I – well I didn't – I thought maybe—"

"It was always your choice whether I knew about your emancipation or not, so if you didn't want me to know, I won't hold it against you. And I won't. Ever," she said, looking up at him with caring eyes. "But Syaoran-kun… I think I had the right to know."

"I know," he agreed quickly, nodding fervently and feeling his throat constrict with her standing so close to him and staring so deeply into his eyes like that. "And you _did_ have every right to know. I would've told you, I really would have, but I—"

"Syaoran-kun," she said softly, a hint of sorrow in her still quiet voice, "you left me so that you could be the Li-clan leader. You do remember that was why, don't you?"

"U-Um…" he said, fingering the collar around his neck, "y-y-yes…"

There was a sad smile on her face. "It was all in vain."

"W-w-what do you mean?" he stuttered. "What was all in v-v-vain?"

She lowered her eyes to the countertop. "Our break up," she told him. "It was for nothing."

"O-oh," he breathed. And she was right. He knew it and he didn't need to have her tell him so – but then again, maybe he did.

By choosing not to become the Li clan leader, he had broken up with her for nothing, and he was aware of this all along. But like so many other things, the fact that their break up was for no reason at all was something he tried hard not to think about, and was usually successful at keeping it from the periphery of his consciousness mostly because it was the one thing he hated to dwell on the most.

Suddenly she laughed, and he was startled. How could she laugh about such a serious matter in their history, he wondered. How could she? But the answer to that question came in the form of Yoshida Kaito and the engagement ring around her slim finger.

"I guess it doesn't matter though," she said almost brightly, returning her attention to the cupcake which was now covered in pink icing. "Because it wasn't _really_ in vain."

"I-It wasn't?"

"No, silly," she giggled, looking up at him once more. "You didn't want to be with me anymore, so breaking up wasn't really for nothing."

He was caught off guard by this. "Oh, r-right… I—"

She patted his hand, once more taking him by surprise. He wasn't sure what to make of the simple gesture. If anything, however, he knew she was just trying to comfort him as a friend.

"You know, I'm really glad you and I are able to talk about these things without getting upset or super sensitive," she told him absent-mindedly, now beginning to focus on a new cupcake. She got down on eye level to better see it and stuck her tongue out from the side of her mouth as she tried to make an intricate swirl design. It was almost too adorable for him to handle.

"Right, m-me too,"

"I wondered for a long time, what it would be like for us to see each other again and how we would act with one another. But after spending some time with you since you've been back, I'm really, really happy to know that we're still friends, Syaoran-kun." She glanced up at him with happiness sparkling in her emerald eyes.

"Right… friends…"

"And… well, since we're friends, really _old_ friends, and because you still mean a lot to me… I was wondering if maybe… if you felt the same way…"

His heart stopped. The conversation had suddenly taken an unexpected turn. Anxiously he waited for her to finish the sentence as he watched her blush and struggle with what to say. When the wait seemed much too long for him to handle, he began to coax, "If I felt the same…?"

"If you felt the same way about… well – us…"

If she didn't finish whatever she had to say soon, he knew for sure that his heart would come right out of his chest for her to decorate with pink icing, too.

"If you felt the same way about us, you know… being friends," she finally said. "I was wondering if, maybe, you'd like to… come to my wedding?" By the time she finished, her cheeks were bright red and glossy eyed, as if she were pleading him to do her a huge favor – which she sort of was.

His face fell as his heart really did come right out of his chest – but for a completely different reason.

"Come… to your… wedding?"

She nodded excitedly, the blush still upon her cheeks. "Yeah! We don't have a date set for it or anything – we've actually had a sort of long engagement… but I would love to have you there along with all of our other old classmates. It would be like a class reunion. Please come, Syaoran-kun, it would mean the world to me if you did. And I know Kaito-kun would want you there, too. What do you say, Syaoran-kun? Please?"

He couldn't say no to her even if he tried. But to attend her wedding, where he would witness her promise before God and all her family and friends to love and cherish another man for the rest of her life? He would've rather stepped on a thousand rusty nails.

"I'll… see what I can do."

To her, he might as well have agreed to come. Squealing with excitement, she dropped her squeeze bag and threw her arms around him. Not particularly happy with the reason why she was hugging him but still not able to keep himself from not hugging her back, he put his arms around her waist and held her tightly, pretending that it was the two of them celebrating their own engagement, not hers with Kaito.

"Sakura, I…"

She stared up at him, their arms still around each other in a loose embrace. "What is it, Syaoran-kun?"

"Sakura… I… I…"

She dropped her arms from around his waist. "Did you want to ask about the time and day?" she asked. "We haven't really decided on that yet. We don't have a church decided on yet, either. Well, actually, we haven't decided on a lot of things about the wedding… but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as we—"

"No, Sakura, it's not that. I have to tell you that I—"

She tilted her head to one side. It was like they were back in the fifth grade and he was trying to tell her how he felt – only now, they were much older, and he was still the one trying to confess his feelings while she was completely oblivious.

"What is it, Syaoran-kun? Are you all right?"

He took a deep breath. "I…"

She looked at him expectantly. He sighed. "It's nothing."

She blinked once, shrugged, and returned to decorating her cupcake. With one look at Syaoran's, she gasped, saying, "Wow, Syaoran-kun, I think you piled on enough icing for that one."

He looked down at the cupcake and realized he had unconsciously picked the squeeze bag up again and had created a massive mountain of pink icing on top of the cupcake out of his nervousness. He laughed nervously and set it aside.

They decorated in silence for a few more moments, Sakura probably thinking about what flowers she'd like to have at her wedding, where she wanted to get married, invitations and dresses… Syaoran, on the other hand, was trying to muster up enough courage to ask about her relationship with Kaito.

"And…" he finally began after a few long seconds of deep staring and thought, "were you ever going to tell me about Yoshida?"

She stopped icing her cupcake and looked up at him earnestly. She paused before answering, "Of course I was, Syaoran-kun."

"Really?"

"Of _course_. Why would I keep him from you?" she asked in sincere confusion, though she was smiling as if she suspected he was just playing around with her. "I'm not embarrassed or anything."

"Of course you're not embarrassed by him, I meant – well, considering… I thought maybe…"

"What did you think?" she wondered, sincere wonder in her voice and eyes.

"Well… you didn't really introduce he and I properly… I – I thought you were…"

"_Oh_," she interrupted, looking sheepish and somewhat fretful. "Syaoran-kun, I'm not embarrassed of _you_,"

He began to shake his head from side to side, frantic to get her to stop apologizing for something that he wasn't even trying to get at. He didn't think at all that the reason she didn't introduce them properly was because she was embarrassed of him, but because he thought that maybe it would be difficult for her to introduce her fiancé to him because of their history. Because he thought that maybe, just _maybe_ she would have qualms about their meeting due to some residual feelings she might still have for her first love.

She ignored his head shaking and smiled apologetically at him, scratching the back of her neck as her cheeks once more took on that glorious shade of pink. "Hoe, I – I really was going to introduce you two. I just wasn't ready to do it right at that moment at the hotel. I was going to ask him to come see you at the house that day, actually. I was caught off guard and I… hoe, I'm sorry," she wailed, bowing her head and that same, nervous smile still on her face. "I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of you at all, I promise!"

"I know you're not, Sakura," he insisted, wanting to wipe that guilty frown off her angelic face, "that wasn't what I—"

"It's just that I… I never told him about you," she admitted, biting the corner of her lip and looking as though she were about to cry. "I couldn't introduce you to him as who you actually are because… well, I don't know how he would take it, and I don't want to upset him or make him think that I've been dishonest with him. It would – it would just ruin everything and I – I hope you understand…"

She looked absolutely frenzied; distressed to the point of harsh frown lines appearing in her usually smooth forehead and nervous rambling. It had been so long since he'd last seen her lose her cool like that. And usually, when she did, it was comical for him and just gave him yet another reason to fawn over her adorable antics – but at the moment, he was afraid she would break down in tears for all the guilt she was feeling.

"Sakura, stop," he told her sternly. "I didn't mean it like that – I… I just wondered if… if you were nervous about introducing me, that's all. I never thought you were embarrassed of me, and I understand why you didn't tell him who I was. He doesn't have to know. There's no need for it. Stop worrying, please."

She seemed to breathe a tiny sigh of relief, and though she was starting to return to her normal state, it didn't comfort him that she was glad to keep their relationship a secret so that her engagement to Kaito could remain intact.

"Hoe… oh…well… okay then," she said, shrugging and giving a small smile. "I'm glad you understand. Thank you, Syaoran-kun. Really. This means a lot to me."

He shrugged and set aside the squeeze bag for good. He had had enough decorating for one night. In fact, he was ready to terminate the conversation completely for the time being what with all that had been brought up. It was definitely time to go.

"I'll get going," he told her without another word on the topic. "I think I tired you out. I'll talk to you later to see if you or Yue-san and Keroberos have any leads on the presence problem. Good night."

She said nothing as he turned and left the kitchen. In the foyer he removed the guest slippers he had been given earlier and put on his normal shoes. He opened the front door and stepped outside into the crisp, evening air, deciding to call upon that same private taxi service. He knew that asking Tomoyo for a ride wouldn't be a good idea – she would just use the ride back as an opportunity to interrogate him about all that he and Sakura talked about, and he simply had no energy whatsoever to take part in that.

As he began to reach for his cell phone, he heard the door creak open and Sakura's timid voice call out after him. He turned around at the sound of it, expecting her to bring him something he had forgotten inside the house. But what? He hadn't brought anything with him besides his cell phone and wallet, both of which were in his pockets.

"Sakura?" he asked curiously.

She was still wearing her furry bunny slippers with faces on them and the shorts and t-shirt she wore did not seem to be keeping her warm in the cool night air. In fact, she was hugging herself somewhat tightly, rubbing her arms to create warmth. Clearly the summer weather wasn't quite right, just yet.

"Get back inside," he told her, already taking her by the shoulders and steering her back in the direction of the house, "you'll freeze out here."

"I just have to tell you something," she insisted, refusing to be moved any further and stayed rooted to her spot, looking up at him with surprising intensity, despite the cold that was obviously affecting her.

"It can wait for later. Good night, Sakura," he said, the tone of finality in his voice nearly silencing her. But still she remained.

"I just wanted you to know," she said, ignoring him and his instructions to go back inside. "I _was_ nervous for you two to meet. I was nervous to introduce you to him because… because I was afraid of how you might treat him."

Syaoran paused. "How I might treat him?"

"Well, yeah," Sakura answered, smiling. "I know how you are, Syaoran-kun."

He paused for longer. "You… do?"

"Yeah," she said, the smile growing bigger, "You've always been overprotective of me. The same way Tomoyo-chan always has been. You wouldn't like it if I were with someone who didn't treat me well. You had to be sure that he was good for me."

He stared at her, knowing that she was both right and wrong. Yes, he was overprotective of her. Yes, he wouldn't like it if she wasn with someone who treated her as anything less than a queen. But, at the same time, he wouldn't like it if she were with someone else _period_ – unless _he_ was that "someone".

"That's why I was nervous. I wasn't sure if he would impress you enough to make the cut," she giggled. Then, she paused, and looked up at him through her lashes. "So… did he?"

He gave her a questioning look. "Did he what?"

Her smile grew vague, almost as if she were afraid to elaborate. "Did Kaito-kun make your cut?"

Syaoran wanted to snort. Did Kaito make the cut? _Did_ he? His immediate thought was – yes. He was better able to care for Sakura better, and he knew without even having to wonder that Kaito would never leave Sakura, no matter the circumstance or situation. He wouldn't give her up the way Syaoran did all those years ago. And that alone made him worthy of her.

Instead he answered solemnly, "I'm still deciding."

At that, Sakura laughed and gave him a short, friendly hug. "Fair enough," she giggled, giving him one, quick, tight squeeze around his waist and pulling back, already heading back to the house. "You're such a good friend, Syaoran-kun. Thanks for looking out for me. Wait here, okay? I'll go get Tomoyo-chan to drive you back to the hotel."

He shook his head and quickly lied, "A taxi is already on its way for me. Just tell Daidouji I said thanks."

She nodded and smiled brightly. "Okay! I'll do that. Good night Syaoran-kun, we'll call you tomorrow if Yukito-san has any information, okay?"

He waved goodbye but gave no response. Instead he gave her a small smile that lasted just as long as her hug, which wasn't very long at all, and turned around. As soon as he heard her front door shut close behind her, he once more reached for the cell phone, quickly dialing the number of the private taxi, and then a different one that he never thought he'd use.

But desperate times called for desperate measures. He couldn't stand it anymore, being back in Tomoeda to witness Sakura being romanced and clearly in love with another man. Though he thought he could be professional about it, civil and subjective to the matter of her engagement, it had all become too much for him to handle.

He was going to leave again. And his next destination, he hoped, would lead him to some answers instead of heartbreak.

"Hi," he said on the phone, hearing the deep, masculine voice that answered on the other end. "It's me. I have some questions to ask you and it's better that I come and see you instead of asking over the phone. Will you be free to see me in a few days?"

"Of course," the voice responded, sounding eager and even excited. "It's been too long. When can I expect you?"

"I have some business to deal with here before I pack and book a flight. Is two days okay?"

"Two days is perfect. I'll see you soon then, Syaoran."

"Bye, Hiiragizawa."

Syaoran hung up and ventured off the property he hoped never to set foot on again.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** A few of you were wondering if Eriol would have an appearance in this fic – well, there's your answer, my friends!

More things to happen – more things that will definitely please all of you, I think! It would be awesome to have your feedback on what has been published thus far, so if you have the time, please leave a line or two in a review to tell me what you think!

Thank you all so much for reading; I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Take care and lots of love!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	6. London Calling

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter six!

**Casting Shadows**

_London Calling_

"Would you mind coming to see me?" Syaoran said into his cell phone. He was waiting inside a rather quaint café at a small table for two near a window. Outside he could see the beautiful sunny day and the blue skies with very few clouds. It was perfect weather for travel.

"Right now?" Tomoyo asked, sounding peeved. "The studio _needs_ me. One dress came out horribly wrong. All the colours clash, the hemline is uneven, and don't even get me started on the bodice!"

Syaoran sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. "Spare me five minutes and come to the café. Five minutes Daidouji, I promise this won't take any longer than that."

She hesitated but he already knew that she had made up her mind. "Fine," she grunted, "I will be there in ten."

Her agreement to come and see him was all he needed to hear. He hung up, asked for a re-fill of his tea, and ordered a cup for Tomoyo as well. After a second thought, he decided to order her a very sugary pastry as well so that she'd feel less inclined to bestow one of her famous verbal beatings upon him. No doubt she'd want to give him exactly that, if not a physical beating, after their short appointment finished.

In ten minutes flat, as she said she would be, Tomoyo became visible through the glass window as she parked her car just outside. She removed her big, round sunglasses and put them at the top of her head, sweeping her bangs up with them. She was glaring – as he knew she would be.

She entered and joined him at the small table. Before even saying hello her eyes found the tea and the pastry set up on her side of the table. She took a sip of the tea and a tiny bite of whatever it was that Syaoran ordered for her. Putting one of her fingers to the corner of her mouth to wipe away any crumbs that might have remained; she threw Syaoran a sardonic glance.

"What's this for?" she asked suspiciously. "And what was so important that you couldn't just tell me over the phone? Should I be expecting bad news or something?"

"It's not bad news," he answered, half lying and half telling the truth. "Not really."

"Li-kun," she said, in the same menacing tone. "What's up?"

He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm leaving town."

She gave him a questioning look. "Why?" she asked bluntly.

He shrugged. "I'm not getting any answers here, Daidouji."

She looked at him incredulously. "Li-kun, we've barely begun our research! Just because Kero-chan couldn't come up with anything, doesn't mean that Yue-san won't know the answer to your problem."

"If Keroberos didn't know, why would Yue-san?" he asked, "Anyway, I'm not going to wait for him to do his own research and then wait another lifetime for him to get back from his dig to present me with information he may not have. I'm leaving town, and this isn't me asking for your permission. This is me letting you know."

Tomoyo inhaled, as if collecting her thoughts and lowering her temper which Syaoran must have raised with his usual frankness.

"All right, fine," she answered, exhaling the breath she took in. "And where exactly are you going?"

"To London, so that I can pay a visit to someone who might actually have some answers for me. I'm just about done with packing. I'll be flying out in a few hours"

Her head slanted forward. "You're leaving tonight," she commented, the surprise clearly conveyed.

He nodded, not knowing how else to respond.

"Well... I guess if you think you'll be better off in London looking for your answers, there isn't any stopping you." She was chewing her bottom lip as she considered the words that had just come out of her mouth. Seeming pleased with her decision, she shrugged. "I guess we'll just contact you if anything comes up," Tomoyo said. "I hope you have a safe trip."

Syaoran didn't know how to react. Was Daidouji Tomoyo actually being _calm_? He couldn't help but to eye her oddly, wondering what the composed demeanour was all about. "You don't seem very upset."

"Why should I be upset?" she asked.

He seemed to relax in every part of his body. His shoulders weren't hunched anymore and his stomach was no longer tight. He had thought that Tomoyo would go ballistic on him for sure, but apparently he had thought wrong.

Syaoran didn't answer her question. Instead he returned her shrug and attempted a half smile to show his thanks for not being yelled at. "Well… thanks for coming. I should let you get back to your studio now. Waitress," he called, raising his hand. The least he could do was pay for the bill – though he was going to do that anyway.

Tomoyo had not moved an inch. She was still staring at him intently. "You'll stop by the house to say goodbye to Sakura-chan before you go. Won't you?"

His arm remained in mid-air, though he'd already succeeded in getting the attention of a passing waitress. His mouth opened and closed, but he made no response. However, his body language and lack of words said it all.

"_Won't_ you?" Tomoyo very nearly shrieked.

He sighed. "Daidouji…"

"Li Syaoran, do not tell me you plan on skipping town without saying goodbye to Sakura-chan," she said, her voice an octave higher than her us usual tone.

He remained silent for a moment before he could think of what to tell her. "It would be… _prudent_ if I just left."

"But you can't just leave!" she exclaimed, and the calm demeanour that he was so impressed with earlier was gone in less than a second. "You have to say goodbye to her! You didn't even let her know you were back in town all those years ago after the boutique incident – the least you could do now is give her a proper goodbye."

"Couldn't you just tell her for me?" he asked, feeling miserable. He just wouldn't be able to – seeing her face, her eyes, her sadness at seeing him leave would change his mind in an instant. But a part of him felt that she wouldn't be sad to see him go at all – maybe she wouldn't even give the issue of his second (technically his third) departure a second thought. She already had a nice, wholesome, caring fiancé to keep her happy. Why would she care if he left again? He'd done it to her before. She'd be able to handle it again.

"No I can't 'just tell her for you'," Tomoyo cried, looking at him through narrowed eyes that were clearly scrutinizing him and his sanity. A few heads in the café swivelled around to glare at the girl disturbing the quiet atmosphere. "Don't be such a coward, Li-kun. You can't just keep running away."

"I'm not running away," he snapped, offended by her claim.

"Okay, fine," she snorted, "you're _flying_ away. Same difference."

He was fighting a losing battle and he was very much aware of that. But there was no way in hell Tomoyo would get him to say goodbye to Sakura. That goodbye, if it ever happened, would turn into a pathetic plea for her love, and he wasn't about to humiliate himself any further during his stay in Japan.

"If I tell her I'm leaving, she'll think she did something wrong," he said.

"And what do you suppose she'll think if you _don't_ tell her you're leaving and just go? That she did something right?" Tomoyo rebutted.

He knew just as well as she did that he was grasping at straws in this argument. It was only right that he let Sakura know that he was leaving and give her a proper goodbye and they both knew it. But he wasn't going to give in.

He didn't even try to give her an answer. It was highly likely that she would just end up making him look stupid again, no matter what he said.

She threw her hands up in frustration, shaking her head. "This is typical Li Syaoran behavior!" she cried, "It's a ridiculous pattern, Li-kun. You leave in the fifth grade without letting her know, then again years later when you come back for her, and _now_? You can't do it for a third time."

"I'm sorry, Daidouji," he sighed, shaking his head and honestly feeling resigned. He didn't want to argue with her anymore. But he couldn't let her have her way – not this time. "You'll just have to tell her for me. Tell her I said goodbye and that I'm sorry."

"Maybe you should tell her that yourself."

"Daidouji, please. I never ask you for anything. _Please_."

Her elbows were atop the table and her face was in her hands, shaking her head as if she had a migraine. "Li-kun… I…" she sighed. "Fine."

He nodded at her in gratitude. "Thank you."

Lifting her head from her hands and looking extremely unimpressed, she asked, "What time is your flight?"

Syaoran glanced at his Rolex wristwatch. "I leave in about four hours. So I should get going to finish my packing. And then I'll just head over to the airport and spend some time there. I guess I'll…" he shifted unsurely. "I'll see you around, maybe?"

Tomoyo smiled at him, despite her agreement to do something for him that she clearly would have rather not done. Perhaps she had done so to make it clear that even though they both annoyed each other to tears, they were and would always be, friends.

"Yeah. I'll see you around."

They both stood and Tomoyo took him by surprise by giving him a light, but friendly hug. His arms however remained at his sides as she rested her head on his chest briefly. She separated from him faster than she had hugged him and gave a short wave.

"Bye for now," he told her as he watched her leave.

She smiled and exited. "Yeah," she said, hearing the bell above the door ding to signal her departure. "For now."

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran had with him at the airport only a simple duffel bag that contained a few of his clothes, toiletries and other traveling necessities. His rolling suitcase, which contained the majority of his things, was already checked and made to be flown separately with the rest of the plane cargo, simply because it was too large to fit in the overhead bin of the first class section.

With the duffel bag at his side, the strap securely over his shoulder, he stared up at the destination board warily. He was ready to complete the check-in and wait at the gate for the boarding call, but he was an hour early. Packing the rest of his things took less time than he thought. There really was nothing much left to do other than go to the airport and wait there.

A little ways to his right, he saw the place where so many years ago, Sakura had come after him to ask for the small, black teddy bear in his shaking hands. He remembered it so clearly, the way his back was turned to the panting Sakura, the surprise and shock that jolted him into reality from his pensive state when she so loudly called out his name –

"Syaoran-kun!"

He froze, his shoulders stiffening as though he felt a ghostly aura. Was that his vivid memory in his ear, or was that actually the voice of the girl he was still hung up on? He turned around to be sure.

She was there, all right. In all her adorable, heartbreaking glory.

His throat closed up as though he was suffering from anaphylactic shock and the sweat was already far passed forming. The moisture was covering not only his forehead almost entirely but appearing underneath his arms. Damn that Daidouji Tomoyo, damn her and her inability to follow instructions!

"W-w-what a-are you—?"

She was jogging up to him, dressed in a travel-friendly outfit with her own pink duffel dangling from her shoulder. There was a smile on her face and she was waving frantically, as if asking him to wait for her – though there wasn't any real need for it, considering he probably wouldn't have been able to move even if he were being chased by Godzilla himself.

"I'm so glad we caught you," Sakura said, her breathing slightly laboured when she finally reached him, just like the first time she had run after him in an airport. Was history repeating itself? Did she come after him to profess her love? "We weren't sure where the gate was!"

He leaned slightly to his left and saw just a few feet behind, walking perfectly at her leisure, Tomoyo with two very large rolling suitcase handles in each hand. She was also grinning, though her grin was wide and meant to annoy him, he was sure.

"Hi Li-kun," she said, when she had joined them. She stared up at the destination board, pretending to be oblivious of Syaoran's accusing stare. "So which gate are we waiting at? We have an hour before boarding. We can go there and play cards."

Sakura clapped her hands. "Oh, I want to play!"

"You two are – you two aren't – you're not coming, are you?" Syaoran asked, trying to contain his panic.

"Of course we are," Sakura smiled. "You think we'd let you make this trip alone?"

"B-b-but," he stammered, "you – you guys need airline tickets, don't you?"

Tomoyo held up two for the same flight as him in her slim fingers. "Bought them online," she said. "First class, of course. So we can sit next to you." He scowled at her. He knew what she really meant was, "so Sakura-chan can sit next to you while I secretly record the entire flight beside the two of you".

"I – I –" he said, unsure of what to say first. Did he yell at Tomoyo for not following his instructions first, or did he converse with Sakura and hope that she realized the familiarity of the situation and proclaim undying, steadfast love for him?

His choice was clear after he took Tomoyo by the elbow and brought her over to the side while Sakura took something from her suitcase. He flashed his frustrated amber eyes at her amethyst ones that were literally sparkling with laughter and mischief.

"I thought I told you—"

"Oh please, Li-kun," she said, stopping him before he could even start. "Don't lecture me. This is an important trip you're making and you know Sakura-chan needs to be part of it. If there's something magical that is coming after you, she is going to help you. And we both know we wouldn't be able to stop her from helping, even if we tried."

He scoffed, not hearing that perfectly valid reason for not doing as he asked and instead accusing her of what seemed more logical. "You mean to tell me that bringing her along on this trip has nothing to do with you trying to set us up again?"

Tomoyo shrugged innocently and shifted her gaze to the side. "I never said I wasn't trying to do that either."

"_Daidouji_," he growled. "How can you do this to her? She's happily engaged! You're ruining something that is good and healthy for her and I can't let you traipse around making all the—"

"You know how I feel about this," she whispered, her nonchalant attitude towards the current situation suddenly gone and done with, only to be replaced with an air of seriousness. "I like Yoshida-kun and he's a good man – but you and I both know she's making a mistake."

Syaoran sighed to calm his raging nerves. "It's not a mistake if she's happy."

Tomoyo opened her mouth to respond, most likely with something clever, witty or something else that would probably have him a little more than slightly convinced that she, in fact, was right. Whatever retort she might have had never escaped her lips however, due to the sudden, bright flash that blinded both her and Syaoran.

"Look over here!" Sakura said, snapping more photos of them, suddenly the one taking Tomoyo's place as resident photographer. "Why do you guys look so grumpy? We're going to England! Come on, smile!"

Both of them, always so very easily taken by her adorable antics, grinned at her insistent photo taking. Tomoyo clicked her tongue and immediately stretched out her arm, reaching for the camera that looked far too professional for Sakura to even know how to operate.

"You forgot to take the lens off, Sakura-chan," she chided, rolling her eyes and doing it herself.

"Hoe," Sakura breathed, embarrassed. "I didn't realize…"

Tomoyo did not return the camera to her possession and instead kept it firmly pressed to her face, already beginning to document their trip. She snapped a few solo photos of Sakura enjoying herself at the airport, one of Syaoran's grumpy attitude as he scowled in her direction, and then went off to take photos of some other things – though Syaoran was sure it was just to give them some more alone time.

As soon as she was gone, Sakura was already approaching him, her smile wider than ever. The anaphylactic shock symptoms were returning fast and he wasn't exactly sure how to carry himself. So instead he chose to take from her and carry the pink duffel bag which he hung from his other shoulder, and then took both of Tomoyo's rolling suitcases. He began to show the way to their gate.

"Let me take this for you," he announced as she stared after him with a quizzical look.

"Oh, no, Syaoran-kun it's all right, really. They must be heavy," she insisted, trying to pry her bag away from him. He shrugged away from her, shaking his head.

"It's fine. I will take these to the check-in for Daidouji if this is all that the both of you have," he said, trying to avoid eye contact.

He suddenly felt very uncomfortable being alone with her. He had thought he had already said goodbye the other night at the house. He was sure that he wouldn't have to do it with her again. Now that he was being forced to, however, he could at least try to detach himself from her. Because, clearly, history was _not_ repeating itself like he had hoped. And this was further reinforced with the arrival of Kaito, who bounded through the airport doors, looking devastatingly handsome.

He caught up with Sakura who had not noticed him enter. She was still trying to get her bag from Syaoran when Kaito touched her shoulder. She turned around to see who had asked for her attention and she smiled blindingly up at him, hugging him around his broad waist.

"Kaito-kun, you made it!" she cried, obviously very happy that her loving fiancé could see her off.

His black hair was combed back but still looked, in the same way that Syaoran's did, attractively messy. The freshly pressed suit he donned, also like Syaoran's, practically screamed out the words _first class_ – and Syaoran's eyes widened.

Completely forgetting himself and not even beginning with any niceties, Syaoran blurted, "You're not _coming_, are you?"

Kaito laughed at this after placing a light peck at the top of Sakura's head. It was as if he didn't hear the sound of dread in Syaoran's voice. "Oh no," he chuckled, waving the idea off with a swift hand motion. "No, no. We're far too busy at the hotel for me to leave. I rushed out of a meeting to wish my girl a safe flight and trip."

Though Syaoran was relieved that he was not coming, it was hard to feel any joy after having just seen another man kiss Sakura and also hear that same man call her "his girl". Though he tried to smile to disguise his strong dislike for Kaito, the attempt proved futile as he grimaced in his direction. By this time Tomoyo had returned to his side while Kaito and Sakura distanced themselves so that they could say their private goodbyes.

"He tried coming along," Tomoyo whispered as Syaoran continued to glare from afar. "Sakura-chan wouldn't let him,"

"I'm sure it was just because she knows we'll be dealing with magic and other secret things while over there and she didn't want him to find out," he ground out, not allowing himself to hope anymore that there might be a chance of her seeing him as anything more than the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart.

"Maybe," Tomoyo agreed. "Or maybe it's because she's starting to change her mind about you."

And then The Fates, right on time just to prove Tomoyo wrong and to rub it in his face, had him witness them, sharing a brief, but obviously sweet and tender kiss right before his very eyes.

Syaoran accompanied his scowl with a snort. "Right…"

Tomoyo and Syaoran approached the two of them, Kaito with his arm around Sakura's shoulders. He hugged Tomoyo goodbye and she smiled at him, probably silently apologizing for trying to break their engagement up. When he released her from their amicable embrace, he turned to Syaoran and held out his large hand.

Syaoran gripped it firmly and stared with no fear into the man's eyes. He did not return his happy smile, nor did he even shake the hand. He simply squeezed and restrained himself from breaking any fingers.

"Take good care of the girls," Kaito joked, not faltering at the strength of the handshake, and apparently able to withstand the tremendous grip, which just further angered Syaoran. "And enjoy yourself at the school reunion. I wonder why it would be in London though," he said, also laughing at the idea of it.

Syaoran looked questioningly over in Tomoyo and Sakura's direction. They nodded with great emphasis at Kaito's words, obviously trying to silently convey to him that this "high school reunion" was just their excuse to go on this magical excursion with him.

Syaoran pressed his lips together and did his very best to smile and have him believe the lie. "I'll see you." Was all he could bring himself to say.

He moved so that he might be rid of Kaito's presence, but a firm hand on his back stopped him. He turned around and he was still there, smiling and being too friendly for his own damn good.

"I want you all to stay at the Yoshida Tower over there in England," he said, "I won't take no for an answer. If my fiancée is going away on a vacation with her friends, I must insist that you all let me share my hospitality."

Syaoran inwardly growled. Now Kaito was just trying to make him look bad, he was sure.

"I can pay to stay at another hotel," Syaoran said, determined not to stay at another Yoshida Tower suite as long as he was still engaged to Sakura. "I'd rather not impose or take advantage of—"

"You wouldn't be imposing or taking advantage of me at all!" he insisted, shaking his head. "And paying is out of the question. I've already arranged it. All my staff at the Yoshida Tower in England knows that you three must be treated with only the best of the best. In the penthouse suite, of course – free of charge." He added at the end, just in case they hadn't heard it the first time around.

"Oh, Kaito-kun," Sakura beamed, "that's so kind of you. You really didn't have to,"

"Sakura, sweetheart," he told her, staring at her with kind, loving eyes. "I wouldn't have you stay anywhere else."

Tomoyo, probably feeling guilty over having him show such kindness to her while she was trying to break up his relationship with Sakura, was also insisting that they did not take him up on his incredibly generous offer. "Yoshida-kun, really. That isn't necessary. I'm fully capable of paying the rate of the room."

"Me too," Syaoran hastened to add.

Kaito was shaking his head. "I won't hear of it. Please, as a favour to me, you must stay at my hotel. I want to be absolutely sure that three of you are comfortable while you are away on this trip. And I can only be one hundred percent positive of that if you're in one of my towers. Please?"

He was smiling so damn kindly and being so ridiculously generous and hospitable that they just couldn't reject his offer, even if they wanted to.

Because she knew Syaoran would be able to go on all night going back and forth on the issue, Tomoyo caved first and said, "Thank you Yoshida-kun, this is too kind of you. It really is not necessary. But thank you."

He grinned warmly at her. "Of course, Daidouji-san. It's not a problem."

Sakura gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Ditto, Kaito-kun. You're so good to us."

Kaito smiled down at her. "Anything for you, sweetheart."

It was only Syaoran that was left to thank him. And they all knew it too. They looked in his direction, wondering what he would say in gratitude.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

To Kaito, he might as well have thanked him in the same gracious way Tomoyo and Sakura had.

"My pleasure, Li-kun," he said with great benevolence. With his arm still around Sakura he addressed all of them, "I really should be going, though. The hotel is crazy right now. So I hope you all have a good flight and a safe trip. I want to hear everything when you guys come back," he said. And then, to Sakura, added, "Call me when you land?"

She nodded. "Will do."

They all waved and said their final goodbyes, and Syaoran was glad it didn't involve anymore kissing or hugging. Sakura seemed to be perfectly fine on her own – wasn't too attached to him, nor was she too dependent upon him. Clearly, Kaito's attachment was much deeper than hers – which wasn't to say that Sakura did not feel the same way about him. As much as it pained Syaoran to admit, clearly she had feelings for the man. However, by observing their goodbyes, he was also able to tell that Sakura was the same, bubbly, cheerful person – with and without him.

The automatic exit doors slid aside for him and the breeze from outside ruffled his already unruly dark black hair. He put his sunglasses, which had been tucked inside his front pocket, were placed over his eyes as he strode over to his car outside. Every single movement he made seemed as though he were on a runway.

It annoyed Syaoran more than words could describe.

Grunting, he turned around and headed for the counter where he could check in both of Tomoyo's suitcases. The two girls trailed after him, giggling and bubbling with chatter over their first trip to England.

"What the hell did you pack in here anyway, Daidouji," Syaoran growled. "A ton of bricks?"

"A week's worth of clothing for Sakura and I," she answered briskly.

"A _week_?" Syaoran asked disbelievingly.

Tomoyo looked over to Sakura briefly, to ask with her eyes what she had done wrong. Sakura simply smiled at her, seeming amused by the whole thing. "Well… that's how long we told Yoshida-kun we'd be away. Should I have packed for two weeks instead?"

"This feels like a month's worth of stuff, Daidouji! Are you going to change clothes by the hour?"

Realizing what he was trying to get at, Tomoyo stuck her nose up in the air and replied, somewhat miffed, "We need to have our options, Li-kun. And you know I won't have Sakura-chan dressed in any old thing while we're over there in England. This is her European debut! We _must_ look our best."

Syaoran bit his tongue. He wasn't even going to try and argue with Tomoyo about clothes – he knew that would be a complete waste of time.

From the side pocket of Sakura's pink duffel bag that was still hanging from his shoulder, there was a sudden rustling. He peered down to see if perhaps it was her cell phone vibrating, but then he noticed that the zipper began to undo itself. He groaned, realizing what was really inside her bag.

"Let me outta here!" Kero gasped, reaching out from the pocket. "Let me out!"

"Kero-chan!" Sakura scolded, stuffing his head back inside and zipping it closed. "I told you to stay put!"

"You brought _him_ along?" Syaoran asked, trying hard not to sound like he was whining.

"Of course we did," Tomoyo said, "we couldn't just leave him by himself."

"Yeah, gaki," he said, his voice muffled. "Did you think I was going to house-sit and water the plants? You can't stop me from missing out on some European cuisine!"

"You have got to be kidding me," he grumbled.

Sakura laughed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Syaoran-kun," she said, knowing how the two rarely spoke without exchanging a few mean words here and there. "He begged to come along. And plus, maybe when we see this friend of yours over in England, he might be able to help with the information we're given. I promise he won't be a bother, Syaoran-kun. Please don't be mad."

His hard glare lost its venom as she looked up at him with those pleading emerald eyes. He looked away from them immediately, hardening his jaw and exhaling. "It's fine."

She grinned widely. "Thanks, Syaoran-kun! I knew you'd be okay with it."

"But he stays in the bag," he added crossly. "We can't let him be seen. There's no way he can pretend to be a plush toy for eleven hours, he can hardly sit still for one. And he sure as hell won't be annoying me for eleven hours, either."

Sakura frowned. "But… how's he going to eat?"

"Yeah!" Kero piped up, sounding scorned. "How am I supposed to eat?"

Syaoran looked at Tomoyo. "You've got sweets for him, haven't you?"

She nodded, just as he knew she would. She always came prepared for every situation, especially situations involving Kero and his appetite.

"Leave him with enough to last for eleven hours."

"And how is he supposed to breathe?" Tomoyo asked, amused.

"Yeah!" Kero chimed once more, "This is just some master plan of yours to have me suffocate, isn't it?"

Syaoran snorted. "You slept for thousands of years in a book. I couldn't suffocate you if I tried. _But_," he added as Tomoyo gave him a scolding glance, "I guess you can leave the pocket only partly closed so he'll have some air." He then turned to Sakura and gave her a level stare to repeat himself one more time. "He stays in the bag."

She felt herself shrink somewhat. "Okay," she said quietly.

He inclined his head forward in a half-hearted nod and returned Sakura's duffel bag to her possession so that she could take care of their little yellow problem. He then took the lead in front of the two girls, showing them the way to the check-in counter for their luggage. As they trailed behind him, Tomoyo took from her carry-on purse a few handfuls of sweets which she put in the pocket and, just as Syaoran instructed, closed it only part-way.

"Why is Syaoran-kun so grumpy?" Sakura whispered, though there was no need. He was taking swift, cranky strides that kept him well ahead of them.

Tomoyo feigned obliviousness. "I don't know, actually."

"I know he and Kero-chan don't get along entirely well but I didn't know he'd be _that_ angry about him coming along…"

"Me neither," said Kero, popping his head out from the tiny gap between the zipper. They noticed with some irritation that his mouth was already stuffed with some of the sweets Tomoyo had just given him.

Sakura gave the pocket a hard tap, and Kero groaned in slight pain. "Stop eating! That's supposed to last you eleven hours, Kero-chan."

"Stop eating?" he asked, sounding devastated.

"You heard her, Kero-chan," Tomoyo said in a motherly tone. "But don't worry," she whispered to him, "I'll sneak you some first class food on the plane!"

His tiny black eyes seemed to water with joy. "Thanks, Tomoyo! You're the best!" She patted his head lightly and eased him gently back inside the pocket. "Maybe this flight won't be so bad."

Sakura, with more troubling thoughts on her mind, sighed and fixed her stare upon the patch of dark, chocolate brown hair that was just a short distance away from her. "Let's hope it won't be."

_**xxxxxx**_

The first class section of the plane was a lot more luxurious than Sakura had expected it to be. Upon entering, she wasn't even sure if she had just arrived in a lounge or a plane. She turned her head to exchange impressed glances with Tomoyo and Syaoran, but it seemed that she was the only one to feel that way. By the looks of it, they were both perfectly at home, quite at their ease with the flight attendants that quickly came to their service.

Attractive young ladies dressed in neatly pressed uniforms immediately came forward – most of them, Sakura noticed, to Syaoran's aid. They offered to help place their luggage in the overhead bins, to which Syaoran declined on behalf of all of them and instead began to put them in himself. The girls, looking disappointed, nodded and went off to greet other first class guests.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran nodded. "I'm fine."

She frowned and accepted his answer reluctantly, as she had been accepting his monotonous, often monosyllable-d answers since they had been waiting at the gate. He had declined to join in the game of cards that she and Tomoyo played to while the time away, and instead chose to tend to business and to some of his clients over the phone and via laptop conferences. Whenever she tried to speak to him, he was short and sometimes just unresponsive.

She hoped that the flight wouldn't be the same as the time they spent waiting to board the plane – or otherwise, it would be an incredibly long eleven hour flight for all of them.

Their large, comfortable individualized plane seats were next to one another, separated by just enough distance so that a number of people could walk through the isles, and resembled reclining lounge chairs found only in five star hotels, quite like the one Kaito owned.

"Oh, it's beautiful here," Sakura sighed, admiring the grand luxury.

Poking fun, Tomoyo said, "It's her first time flying first class. Can you tell?"

Syaoran didn't answer.

The same girls from before returned, offering them all tall, glass flutes filled with sparkling champagne. Tomoyo accepted hers with a polite and grateful smile while Sakura's eyes shined in surprise. "Will we have to pay for this?" she asked unsurely.

"It's fine, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo answered, rolling her eyes. "We're first class passengers. These are complimentary."

With a pleased smile, Sakura accepted her glass and took a tiny sip. Tomoyo, however, took a rather long sip from hers, and gave an urging glance to both Sakura and Syaoran.

"Drink up, you two! We're about to start an eleven hour flight. A little champagne would do us all some good."

Syaoran shook his head and the girl who had offered him the champagne looked as if she wanted to cry. "No thank you."

Tomoyo's eyebrow rose. "Everything okay, Li-kun?"

He turned around to face her after closing the overhead bin. He nodded briskly. "Yeah. Fine."

Sakura, unhappy that Syaoran was clearly in a bad mood and afraid that she had done something wrong to make him that way, attempted to coax a real answer out of him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said, giving them both empty stares that conveyed neither truth nor lie. He moved to take one of the two seats by the window, but then remembered himself. "Did either of you want to sit by the window?"

Sakura's face lit up. "Oh, I would love a window seat! Is it okay if I—?"

Syaoran was already switching seats to the opposite end, to the other window seat. If he could help it, he would spend as little time with Sakura as possible – not only for the flight, but for the trip as well. What was the point in torturing himself even further? She was going to marry another man, and she obviously wasn't going to change her mind. Why put himself through even more pain by enduring her company? He didn't need the physical reminder to remember the fact that he was never going to be with her.

As he moved towards the other seat, Tomoyo's voice interrupted both action and thought.

"Actually," she said, her voice commanding, rather than asking. "I'd like to have the other window seat. If that's okay with you, Li-kun," she added, to make it sound less of an order.

He glared at her. He knew exactly what she was doing. Pitting him in the middle of their seats would ensure interaction time with Sakura – interaction that he would've much rather avoided.

But there was no way he could refuse Tomoyo's request. Not without looking rude, especially when he had just offered them both the window seats. And not without raising a few questions out of Sakura, who would wonder why he didn't want the middle seat next to her.

He expelled a quiet, irritated sigh and straightened. Mindful of Sakura's curious stare upon the both of them, he took extra care to whisper softly, but still fiercely, as he stood very close to Tomoyo for a moment as they switched seats.

"Does the word 'schadenfreude' mean anything to you?" he asked in a low growl.

Tomoyo smiled sweetly, that same, annoying, mischievous sparkle in her bright amethyst eyes. "Gesundheit."

He scowled at her and plopped himself down in the middle seat, keeping his gaze forward so that he wouldn't have to look at either girl who both happened to cause him different degrees of pain. He learned quickly, however, that there would be no ignoring Sakura whatsoever on an eleven hour plane ride.

"Hey, Syaoran-kun!" she said excitedly. "Look at this care basket – its got everything!"

"Oh. Does it?" he asked, not at all keen to know what was inside.

She nodded vigorously, taking out the different things as she listed them out for him. "Cookies, pistachio nuts, some magazines…" she continued to rattle off the rest of the items in the basket, pausing to squeal at something or other that she found to her liking. Syaoran had already stopped listening at the pistachio nuts.

"Oh, that's nice," he answered, realizing she had finished and was waiting for a reply.

With such a lack of enthusiasm in his voice, Sakura could not help but to directly address the issue of his grumpy attitude anymore. Was there no cheering him up or getting to the root of the problem, whatever it was? There was only one way of knowing, and she was about to try and get some of those answers.

"Syaoran-kun," she began, her voice steady but low so that they might have some privacy. There were, after all, other passengers getting settled in. "Did something happen? You've been scowling practically this whole time."

Tomoyo, who they had both thought was too engrossed in a magazine to overhear their conversation, spoke up without even looking up from the page she was reading. "Li-kun has found himself a new dilemma today."

Feeling his neck grow warm and his cheeks flush, he answered, "W-what? No, I told you guys. I'm fine."

Sakura bit the corner of her lip and fought the urge to twiddle her thumbs – a nervous habit of hers. Instead she scratched the back of her head and laughed lightly, choosing to put a happy face on for him even though she was really concerned. While she was afraid that she might have been the cause for his grumpiness, she was even more afraid that she was annoying him with all her questions.

"Oh, okay. Of course you're fine. Sorry, I—" she giggled nervously. "Hoe, well. You know me. I just don't like to see you upset, Syaoran-kun. But… if I can do anything," she said, now shy and timid due to the fact that she was afraid he might reject her help, the same way he'd been rejecting her friendly advances since she arrived at the airport, "I wish you would tell me. I know I haven't been much help with this thing that's been following you around, so if there's something else that I can do for you, well… I want to do it," she said.

She was purposefully doing this, wasn't she? She was being kind and caring just to make it even _more_ difficult for him to ignore her! Honestly, was the universe just trying to punish him for leaving her? How could he possibly move on if everyone and everything seemed pitted against him and determined to keep him hung up on her forever?

He lowered his gaze so he wouldn't have to look at her and feel the guilt as he told her, "Thanks. It's nothing though, so… if you don't mind. I'd like to try and take a nap now."

From his other side, he heard Tomoyo snort. He knew, though her eyes were still fixed upon the magazine, that she was actually giving her disapproval of his answer.

He noticed Sakura's gaze grow visibly even more disappointed with his response. She smiled despite the once more indifferent reply and nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh, yes, of course. You must be exhausted. We'll talk later."

"Okay then," he said, turning away from her and shutting his eyes.

It was not long before a voice came over the entire plane, telling all passengers within of the procedures everyone must follow for take-off, the expected time and date of arrival in England, as well as other things that Syaoran didn't care to take note of. Before he knew it, the plane began its slow ascent into the clouds.

And as much as he liked to inwardly accredit the climb of the airplane for the raging butterflies in his stomach, he knew that the real reason for them was sitting just to the right of him, staring worriedly into his sleep encrusted face.

_**xxxxxx**_

At some point during the flight, Syaoran found himself unable to sleep for much longer. He wasn't exactly sure how much time he had killed and he was afraid to ask. He was hoping that only a little of the journey remained, so that he could better avoid Sakura once they landed. But if he had only turned out to be asleep for a mere few hours, there wasn't much else he could do to evade communication with Sakura.

With one eye, he peeked through his eyelid and chanced a glimpse in her direction. She seemed to be engrossed in the movie that was playing on the television in front of her, watching with captivated eyes with laughter inside them. It took him a moment to tear his gaze away.

He then peeked through his other eye to see what Tomoyo was up to, and to his dismay, she was already looking in his direction.

"Relax. It's only a few more hours until we land," she said, immediately aware of his anxiety.

"How long was I asleep for?" he asked somewhat groggily.

"More than half the flight. You must really be determined not to talk to her."

He shrugged. "I'd rather save myself the torment."

She smiled. "Really? Because I'd rather not." She leaned out of her seat and called out, "Sakura-chan! Li-kun is finally awake!"

Syaoran's eyes widened at her audacity to ruin his plans (though he wondered why he should even be surprised by it anymore) and gave her a menacing look that simply threatened a severe tongue lashing. But before he could even raise the tongue to the roof of his mouth, Sakura had turned and taken off her headphones.

"Syaoran-kun!" she exclaimed, looking absolutely ecstatic that they could now spend some time talking. "Wow, you sure dozed off. We're almost there."

Relaxing the flare in his nostrils, he released a strenuous sigh. "I was pretty tired."

Sakura was almost bouncing on her toes. "I can't sleep a wink. I can't wait until we land! Can you, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Hardly, Sakura-chan. I've always wanted to go to England. What about you, Li-kun? Aren't you excited?"

Surprising himself, he answered casually and – dare Sakura say, _conversationally_. "England is a fine country. I've been there quite a few times on my business trips and taking in the sights is a great way to pass the time."

Sakura, pleased with the change in his attitude, no matter how minor it was, became even more excited. Syaoran could see it in her eyes, the way they sparkled when he didn't reply monotonously or as if he were annoyed. Seeing her light up because of the fact that he was in a slightly better mood made him want to remain conversational, just so that smile on her face could remain.

He caught himself staring at her ridiculously pretty, smiling face and attempted to regain focus. He coughed and cleared his throat a few times and flagged down a stewardess to bring him a glass of water, just to occupy himself with a task and distract himself if only for a moment from her ridiculous good looks.

"Say," Sakura began after he took a sip from his not-needed water, "who is this friend of yours that we are visiting, anyway?"

He coughed for real this time as the question caught him off guard. He knew the girls were bound to ask at some point, he had just thought that they'd be too excited about the trip to actually bother asking until they arrived at Eriol's doorstep.

"Yeah," Tomoyo agreed, her tone of voice in similar wonder. "Who is this magical friend of yours who might have some answers for us?"

Syaoran's eyes shifted slowly in their sockets as he thought of how to answer. It wasn't necessarily a secret, nor was it actually a huge deal that they were going to see him. But telling them that it was actually Hiiragizawa Eriol that they'd be visiting might give Tomoyo further ideas about setting him and Sakura up together. It would be too much like the old days, and he was quite sure that he and Sakura felt the same way about leaving the past alone.

"Well… you know. It's just that guy from school," he answered, trying to be vague.

The two girls looked across him to one another to exchange confused stares. "That guy from school?" Tomoyo repeated skeptically.

"There was someone else in our school with magic?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Well… yeah. I mean – you know, there was that guy…" he struggled pathetically.

Tomoyo laughed, sure that he was just confused or had the wrong person. "Don't be ridiculous Li-kun. There was no one else at our school with magic. It was only you and Sakura-chan."

Sakura joined in her laughter. "Yeah Syaoran-kun, I think you've got it wrong. It was only you and I. Oh," she said, remembering something, "and there was Eriol-kun after all, but he moved back to England after our—"

She stopped talking, realizing what she was saying. "Wait a second," she mumbled, her eyes narrowed. "Syaoran-kun, are you taking us to see Eriol-kun?"

Syaoran began to chuckle somewhat nervously. "O-oh. Was that his name? I can hardly remember…"

Tomoyo's face soured in incredulity as she threw him a crumpled vomit bag. "Li-kun!" she scolded.

"Hey!" he yelped, flicking it off of him as soon as it made contact with his clothes. "That better have been empty!"

Ignoring this, Tomoyo questioned, "Why didn't you tell us it was Hiiragizawa-kun we were visiting?"

Sakura didn't seem to be too troubled by the fact that he had not told them the entire truth about their trip. She was smiling, finding the whole situation amusing. "Hey, I guess it really is like a school reunion, isn't it you guys?" she laughed, now seeming more excited than ever since they embarked upon the trip. And though Tomoyo didn't know it, Sakura's simple reaction was the answer to the question she just asked Syaoran.

He was frowning, staring at the floor beneath him with some discomfort. "Sakura," he said, pointing to the TV. "This is a great part of the movie. Trust me; you don't want to miss it."

She looked to the movie screen and suddenly remembered that she had stopped watching so she could talk to him and Tomoyo. Realizing that she had missed out on a lot of the plot already, she slipped her headphones back on without a word, if only just to see the scene that Syaoran wanted her to watch.

With her attention elsewhere, Syaoran found it was safe to converse with Tomoyo about the reason why he didn't tell them that it was Eriol that would be their host in England.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Tell me now and tell me quick. That bogus scene you just asked her to watch won't last long."

Not seeing the need in putting it off anymore, he told her, "Don't you remember Hiiragizawa? He… he…" his frown deepened.

Tomoyo shook her head at him with a raised eyebrow. "He what, Li-kun?"

The next six words that came out of his mouth were draped with disgust. "He was in _love_ with her."

Tomoyo sighed, her eyes closed. "I am not hearing this right now…"

"You saw how he acted around her back in grade school!"

She threw her hands up in the air, as she often found herself doing when quarrelling with Syaoran, and slumped in her seat as if exhausted. And she probably was exhausted – exhausted from having the same ridiculous arguments with Syaoran over what seemed like the same things.

"Haven't we been through this?" she asked. "We had this conversation a million years ago! The way he looks at her – it's like the way he'd look at his musume or imouto."

"Yeah but—"

"And he knew as well as I did and for just as long as I did that you had feelings for her. That was territory he was never actually going to tread on – even though he liked to annoy you by hanging out with her."

"_Yeah_, but—"

"_And_," she added sharply, her voice getting more and more coloured with irritation, "he was dating Mizuki-san! Remember?"

Syaoran sank a little in his chair. That was true… after all, how could he forget that the boy their age was dating a far older woman?

"Well… I guess you're—"

"Syaoran-kun," came Sakura's voice in slight reprimand, "that scene was boring!"

"Oh," he breathed. "Sorry. I… uh, wrong scene."

She smiled and shook her head at him. "Oh, Syaoran-kun. What am I going to do with you?"

He shrugged. How could he respond to her sweet teasing like that? Before, it would've been with a light peck to her nose, cheek or forehead. But obviously to do any of that was out of the question now.

When he didn't give a vocal answer, Sakura continued, "I guess I'll just ask Eriol-kun what to do with you," she joked. "I'll have to ask him how Mizuki-san is doing too. I haven't heard from them in so long. I really hope they're happy."

Tomoyo gave Syaoran a pointed stare. Her final point that Eriol was not interested in Sakura nor Sakura in Eriol, was hammered home by her simple well-wishing for him and his girlfriend.

"I sure hope they are too," said Tomoyo in agreement.

Without saying it aloud, Syaoran inwardly hoped that Eriol was happy as well – but not for the same reasons why Sakura and Tomoyo wanted him happy. He figured, as long as Eriol was with another woman, that would be one less man vying for Sakura's affections. To deal with one man in deep love with her was hard enough – three was definitely a crowd.

"Syaoran-kun," said Sakura, returning him to their conversation from his pensive state. "It would be nice if he settled down. Don't you think?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

In a dream-like state, Sakura added, "It would be nice if we all did."

She turned to look at him casually but was caught in the snares of his amber eyes. There was an intensity within those eyes, those eyes that she was still so attached to – a sort of heat that burned through her own eyes, reaching somewhere deep within her that she was sure he no longer had access to.

"Yeah," he agreed with her once more, his voice seeming thick with emotion – which emotion, however, she wasn't exactly sure.

Her smile twitched nervously and she looked away quickly, feeling a soft blush creep up and around the edges of her pale cheeks. Surely he was just innocently reminiscing of their time spent together as young kids in love – when they had both thought that, without any doubt or reservation, that they would settle down with one another.

But that was a long time ago and she was quite positive that he was more than moved on from what happened, considering he was the one who initiated the break up, and the conversations they shared with one another since his arrival certainly did not make her believe otherwise. They were both happy in their current situations in their lives. She was going to be married and Syaoran was there for her, supportive as always.

Still, she wondered with well-hidden unease, why she felt happier over his return than she did over her impending marriage to Kaito.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** Hello everyone! My apologies for taking a bit longer than usual to update. Thank you to all those who have been reviewing/have reviewed. It's great to hear from you guys!

And now, I will respond to a selected few questions and comments!

_Will Meiling make an appearance?_ – I will give you the same answer when asked whether or not Eriol would be in the story: Wait and see, my lovely readers! That may seem like a sneaky yes, but I guarantee nothing. And just because Eriol really did end up being in my story, please do not assume that Meiling will be also – I would hate to get anybody's hopes up!  
_Will KahoxEriol be canon?_ – Wait and see, my lovely readers!  
_Will you write in anyone else's POV other than Syaoran's?_ – Honestly? I _love_ writing in Syaoran's POV. It's my absolute favourite. From time to time, you might notice in one of the chapters that I suddenly start to describe things in Sakura's POV, but that's about it. So basically, this story will mostly be in Syaoran's POV, and will sometimes switch over into Sakura's.

In this chapter, I paid homage to a scene in the original CCS anime – can any of you guess which? ;)

Vocabulary: _musume_ – daughter, _imouto_ – little sister

That is all for now. I can't wait to hear what all of you think, so please leave a review if you have the time. Thank you all so very much, and take care!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	7. Mistaken Identity

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter seven!

**Casting Shadows**

_Mistaken Identity_

Despite the impeccably smooth landing that the pilot was able to manoeuvre, the stomachs of both Syaoran and Sakura were not well. While they tried their best to mask the unease they both felt, it was almost unnecessary. As it turned out, they were both too concerned with hiding their own feelings to notice the other's.

As Syaoran took the luggage from the bins, once again declining help from either of the girls and flight attendants, he silently made his way through the first class isle and exited the plane. Nodding to the attendants that bade him goodbye; he looked over his shoulder to make sure that the two girls were not far behind.

"Thank you for flying with us," said a cheerful blonde said with a kind smile to both Sakura and Tomoyo. "We hope you enjoyed your flight."

"Thank you," they replied sincerely. As they stayed close behind Syaoran to follow him to wherever it was that he was leading them to, Tomoyo could not help but notice how on edge Sakura seemed to be. Just a few moments before, she was the most excited that she'd ever seen her in a very long time. But now, she wasn't quite sure what her best friend was feeling.

"Was it a bad flight?" Came Tomoyo's blunt inquiry. She knew that Sakura would understand why she was asking.

After a split second of hesitation, she stuttered whilst shaking her head, embarrassed, "N-no. It was a good flight. I'm sorry, please don't worry. I'm just anxious and I'm already missing home…"

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows. She took a mental note of how she had said, "missing home" rather than, "missing Kaito-kun" and inwardly told herself that maybe her plan of getting her two old friends back together again was working.

"Relax," Tomoyo insisted, patting her on the back. "We're going to have a _great_ time. Trust me – the adventure has only begun!"

Inside, Sakura knew that Tomoyo was right. It would be a fantastic adventure that she would be embarking upon with her two best friends – like before. And it really had only just begun – in ways she had no idea.

_**xxxxxx**_

Glass doors slid aside and a gust of cold air welcomed the faces of Tomoyo, Syaoran and Sakura to rainy England. Umbrellas suddenly appeared on all sides of them as men dressed in black uniforms stared at Syaoran, apparently waiting for orders.

Sakura and Tomoyo stared in wonder. "Friends of yours, Li-kun?" asked Tomoyo, nudging her head towards the man in black nearest to her.

He ignored her and beckoned to the man holding the umbrella directly above his head to the sleek black car parked a little ways to their left. "Come with me and help with the luggage, please," he asked, already walking to the rear of the vehicle. Calling over his shoulder, he further instructed, "And please help the girls into the car."

The other man holding the larger umbrella over Sakura and Tomoyo nodded and offered Tomoyo, the girl he was nearest to, his arm. She took it with a smile and he held the car door open for them, after escorting them the whole way with the umbrella firmly over their heads, as if maintaining the dryness of their hair was his only purpose in life.

After sitting only a few minutes on their own inside the car, they were later joined by Syaoran. The two men who had come to their aid sat in the front in the driver and passenger seat and almost immediately raised the partition that separated them from the three foreigners sitting in the rear.

"Those are some servants you have," Tomoyo commented, though how she even had the nerve to tease was beyond Syaoran. As a child, she had "servants" just like those men, only female. Syaoran could remember them being present at several school events when they were still children.

"They're not my servants," Syaoran grunted.

Tomoyo snorted. "No?"

He sighed, annoyed. "I called them in specifically because I know you two can't speak very good English. They work for the car Japanese car company that I do close business with and this is just a favour."

"Whatever you say, Li-kun. Or maybe I should start calling you 'Your Highness'?" she asked, laughing at her own joke.

As lame as it was, Sakura joined in her laughter, and suddenly Syaoran felt that, as long as he could hear her emit a noise as adorable and melodic as that, she could laugh at his expense whenever she damn well pleased.

He ignored Tomoyo's remark and lowered the partition by an inch. "The Yoshida Tower, please," Syaoran said.

The man in the driver's seat did what appeared to be a salute in response to his "command", and as soon as the partition was lifted once more, Tomoyo and Sakura burst into another fit of giggles.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and prayed that he seemed more indifferent than embarrassed.

Soon the car was moving and they were on the way to drop their things off at Kaito's hotel, as he had insisted they should do. Syaoran was still feeling uneasy about it, mad at himself that he couldn't keep his vow to not stay there for as long as Kaito remained intimate with Sakura. But it wasn't as if he could decline the offer.

The man practically guilted him into agreeing to stay there – and even if he chose to sleep elsewhere, it would be showing Sakura his weakness. More than that, it would probably make her wonder why he didn't want to, leading to the most probable conclusion (if her denseness didn't deter her, of course). And he would do anything to prevent both of those things from happening.

After a few minutes of silence as they watched raindrops dribble down the window, Tomoyo pouted and said, "We can't even roll down the windows to site-see. It's raining too hard."

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to site-see," Syaoran said, wanting more to shut her up than to comfort her. But if he happened to do both, then he was glad. "I can set up a private, personal tour for you, if you like. You can choose what you want to see and the activities that you do."

Both girls squealed. "That would be great!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I would love that."

He nodded. "When you're settled and unpacked, you can name the day."

"Oh, Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, literally feeling like a spoiled brat. How much more were the men in her life going to provide her with nice things? "You could do that for us? Really?"

He shrugged, feeling uneasy. Yes, he was able to do a lot of things for a lot of people – it was one of the perks of being as rich as him, and as connected to certain people like he was. But the way she was fawning over his kindness – it was very similar to the way she had thanked Kaito for providing them with free, five-star hotel hospitality while they stayed in England – and it was much too similar for his liking.

He did not want her to think, for one second, that he was anything like Kaito. Sure, he was a devastatingly outstanding gentleman that loved her and treated her like a queen, so to be compared to him would be a compliment for any man. But not for Syaoran. He hoped that, if it ever happened that Sakura chose him over Kaito, that it would be because of how they were different – and not similar.

"Well, only if it is something you two would like. Guided tours can sometimes be boring. You guys think about it and if you still want to, I'll make sure to call the right people."

Tomoyo fell back against her seat blissfully. "You're right. We have a whole seven days to think about what we want to do while we're here."

"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said, her voice disapproving. "We can't spend the _whole_ time enjoying ourselves. We have an issue to resolve, remember?"

Syaoran shook his head. "Don't worry about that."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Hoe?"

"You two don't have to do anything. You can relax, unwind, visit the sites. I can handle the work. It's my problem, after all."

Sakura was frowning. "But…"

There was a tap at the window before the door was opened wide. They heard an umbrella being opened outside as a man offered his arm to Tomoyo.

"We're here," said the driver with a pleasant smile.

Tomoyo glanced quickly to her two friends, an intrigued smile on her face. A disagreement, she felt, was on its way. And disagreements, especially between Syaoran and Sakura, were always interesting.

They were helped inside, one man for each of them to hold an umbrella over their head. Soon they were inside, and Syaoran was taking a quick look of his surroundings. He was surprised to find the Tower very similar to the Yoshida Tower back in Japan. So similar, in fact, that there were Japanese employees everywhere. He wanted to roll his eyes. Of course, the upstanding, Japanese business man and hotel owner would think to give his hotel jobs to his fellow country men and women first. How much kinder could Kaito get, really?

A bellhop was already outside, loading their things out of the car and onto a trolley. They were unsure of what to do next, since Kaito had only told them that his staff was informed of their arrival and accomodations. They were given no instructions by Kaito of what to say or do once they arrived, so Syaoran had no choice but to approach the brunette behind the receptionist desk, who awaited him readily, quickly fixing the hair around her face and giving her best smile.

"Excuse me," he said, not knowing where to start. "Are you the hotel manager around here?"

She smiled flirtatiously and blinked her heavy lashes at him. "I am indeed – how can I help you, sir?"

Maybe, if he mentioned Sakura, the owner's fiancée, she would know what to do and give them their penthouse key cards. "I'm with Kinomoto Sakura – over there," he said, nodding in her direction. Sakura was waiting with Tomoyo near the entrance, who was supervising the transfer of their luggage like her life depended on it. She waved and smiled upon noticing that she was being pointed at.

"We were told we'd be staying in the penthouse suite?" he asked, when the girl gave no reply. "Perhaps you could… um, show your guests to the—?"

Referencing a clipboard she had in her possession briefly, her eyes widened upon seeing something scribbled on the paper. Suddenly the girl snapped to attention, realizing what Syaoran was saying, and blushed furiously. "O-oh! Of course, you are with Kinomoto-san and her guest! My apologies, sir. Please excuse my customer service. I had no idea. If you follow me…" she said, clearly flustered over flirting with a personal guest of her boss.

Syaoran stared at her, one eyebrow lifted, as she walked stiffly to the elevator. He called the two girls over who were checking to make sure that their luggage was not too badly drenched. They quickly tipped the bellhops and ushered themselves into the elevator in front of Syaoran and the lady who was showing them to their rooms.

Before stepping out of the elevator the brunette asked, "Would you still like to be given the tour, sir?"

For some reason, she had only asked Syaoran, and not the entire party. Ignoring that, Syaoran considered her query instead of lingering on why she hadn't also asked the girls. He probably could have told her to get lost, especially since it would not be his first time staying in a Yoshida Tower penthouse suite. The structure would probably also be frighteningly similar to the Japan penthouse suite, he himself did not need any kind of tour, whatsoever. But he figured he might as well let the lady do her job rather than make her feel useless like he did to the flight attendants on the plane ride in. The girls might have appreciated being shown around, anyway.

"Why not?" he answered as they arrived on the penthouse floor.

She nodded and took the lead almost immediately. Smiling back at them briefly once they arrived at the door, she swiped they key card through the slot and allowed them all entry, spreading her arms as if to say "voila".

"This is the first floor of the penthouse suite," said the woman, walking further into the sitting area. "The entire floor is all for you to enjoy."

Tomoyo, realizing that it was her that was being spoken to, widened her eyes. "What? This level is… mine? All mine?"

She had never set foot farther than the lobby in the Yoshida Tower in Japan, so she was rather impressed. It was a gorgeous layout, extremely spacious and well decorated. But it wasn't that that surprised Tomoyo. No, like Syaoran, she was very used to getting the best of the best. But she had thought that she would be sharing a floor with Sakura, and not having one for herself.

The brunette looked at Syaoran, as if waiting for him to say something. His eyes shifted uncomfortably. How was he supposed to know how to respond to Tomoyo's question? _She_ was the one showing _them_ around.

When he gave no reply, she laughed nervously and quickly referred to the notes on the clipboard that she had been carrying with her. "Yes, I'm – I'm sure! Now, if you follow me to the next floor…"

She left the room in a rush, as if wanting to escape her embarrassment. But why should she have been embarrassed? The three of them weren't too sure. They all exchanged strange looks amongst each other before entering the in-suite elevator, where they'd be taken further upwards. Syaoran, though confused because his other penthouse in Japan was only two floors, went along with the woman thinking perhaps the two structures weren't so similar after all, and that the tower in England had a penthouse with three floors – one for each of them.

"And this is for you," she said, smiling too wide for her own good when they arrived on the second floor.

"Oh," Sakura said, looking between herself and Syaoran. "For… which of us?" she asked politely.

The brunette's smile was starting to falter. "For – for you, of course," she said. She was staring at Syaoran and Sakura.

Sakura laughed, despite the confusion in her head. "I'm sorry – who?"

"The floor is for you," she said again, this time with less confidence. "For you two of course! This is the floor, after all, with the master bedroom big enough for the two of you to share!"

She was still staring at Syaoran and Sakura.

Tomoyo snorted, unable to help herself. "Oh, this is _gold_…"

"N-no," Sakura stuttered, blushing furiously and shaking her head frantically. "There must be some mistake, we can't be – this floor can't be – not for the _two of us_—"

"But it is," the woman insisted, looking to Syaoran for help. "Isn't it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he asked, irritated by the mix-up. The last thing he wanted was to be accidentally assigned to share a floor with the girl he was trying to stay away from. It was embarrassing for him in more ways than one.

"H-how could you not know?" the brunette almost shrieked.

"Aren't _you_ the one in charge?" Syaoran asked her.

The brunette looked about ready to cry. "Yoshida-san, if this is a practical joke that you play on your new hires, I really don't understand!"

And then, suddenly, they all understood. It was just Syaoran's luck, and Syaoran's luck only, that would get him mistaken for Yoshida Kaito.

He held his hands up to his face and tried to massage his scalp. He suddenly had a very bad headache.

"H-hoe! No, no – this is not – he is not – we're not…" Sakura tried to explain. "He and I are…"

For some reason, Sakura couldn't get it out of her mouth. When she tried to say, "he isn't my fiancé" or, "we're not together" and "he and I are just friends", she seemed to get all tongue-tied. Luckily, she didn't have to put up with the weird tongue twisters for much longer, because the brunette had come to the realization all on her own.

"Oh – you're not – you're not her fiancé Yoshida-san?"

His face still in his hands, Syaoran shook his head. "No," he moaned. "I'm not."

And this time, the brunette really did start to cry. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm brand new here at the hotel! This is my first real task as hotel manager and I – I've never met Yoshida-san in the flesh! I got the notice that his fiancée would be coming here, I thought he was coming with her! And then you said you were with her, I confused you with—"

Tomoyo, still amused by the entire situation but feeling pity for the newbie, immediately went to her side and Sakura to her other. "It's all right, really. It's fine – it's not a big deal," Sakura said softly, patting her back. "It was an honest mistake. It could've happened to anyone."

"Please," the brunette begged, "please don't tell him. He'll fire me!"

Sakura laughed at this. "Kaito-kun would never do such a thing. Trust me; if he knew about this, he would laugh about it! But don't worry – if you would really prefer that he didn't know about the mix-up, then he doesn't have to."

"R-really?" she whimpered, wiping her eyes. "He w-wouldn't f-f-fire me?"

"No! He would never fire someone for something as trivial as this," she said reassuringly. "Here, why don't you give us our key cards? We can find everything else ourselves – really. You should go collect yourself – take a soothing breath."

She shook her head. "Oh – no, I… I couldn't. I'm so sorry, I'm showing such poor guest service right now, please, allow me to…"

"It's fine," Syaoran suddenly said, tired and uncomfortable with the tears, and still incredibly irritated for being mistaken as Kaito. "We'll be all right from here. We won't trouble you any further."

"A-are you… quite sure?"

"Very sure," he answered, already dismissing her.

She seemed resigned, like there was nothing else she could do. "All right then, I suppose…" from out of her pocket she handed Syaoran his own key card, and gave the girls their own. "I hope everything will be to your liking," she said.

"It will be just fine. Thank you so much for your help," Tomoyo said, smiling widely and sincerely meaning it. Not only had she given her an entire floor to stay in with Sakura where she could monitor her clothing for the trip, but also a good laugh with the mistaken identities. She felt like giving her a large tip.

She left, wiping her eyes but no longer fussing over getting fired. Sakura was determined not to let Kaito know of the misunderstanding, even though she was more than positive that he would get a laugh out of it. It was more for her benefit that she didn't tell him – to avoid feeling awkward, but more than that, guilt over not revealing to him who Syaoran was to her – her first love.

In any case, it was no fault of the brunette's for getting the two confused. Not that they were very much alike in facial features. But they were both tall with broad shoulders and had similar taste in hairstyles and clothes. But those were not the similarities Sakura found between them. In fact, as Sakura thought more about it, she was finding the similarities more in their manners and in their kindness. It was Kaito's quiet generosity and big heart that attracted her to him in the first place, because she found it to be so like Syaoran's…

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, snapping her fingers. "Let's get settled on the first floor, shall we? The luggage is already on its way."

She shook her head to escape her reverie, and looked at Syaoran. He was staring back at her, no expression in his eyes or face. "H-hoe, oh, right…"

Tomoyo shuffled her out, determined to get both of them into a change of clothes, unpacked, and somewhat settled before doing anything else. Syaoran watched them go until they disappeared into the elevator. As soon as they were gone, he immediately went to his room and closed the door behind him, only so that he could lean against it and rub his temples in circular motions. He _knew_ having them there with him was a bad idea. But there was nothing he could do about it now – except for spend as little time with them as possible.

_**xxxxxx**_

The luggage arrived shortly after the two girls did in their suite. Without another word, they began to take out their things, first their toiletries which they set up in the large bathroom by the two separate sinks, and then their clothes which they placed in the drawers and closets. It was quiet for the most part, neither of them having any real urge to bring up the misunderstanding from earlier with the other. That was, until Kero awoke from his nap.

He yawned, unzipping himself out of Sakura's duffel bag side pocket. He let out a yawn.

"Someone's finally up," Tomoyo commented wryly. "I thought you might have decided to take another thousand year-long nap."

He half-smiled in her direction and fluttered upwards and towards the window to enjoy the view – not that there was much of it to see, considering the heavy rain that obstructed his vision. "Too bad about the weather. Not much to do today."

"I wouldn't say so," Tomoyo disagreed as she folded a sweater. "There's still plenty to do. We can have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Maybe spend an hour or two at the spa, get a nap in or maybe even sleep early so we can adjust to British time. What do you say, Sakura-chan? The day is still young!"

Sakura turned her head an inch. "Hoe? O-oh, yeah, you're right. Lots to do."

Tomoyo stopped folding and leaned forward across the bed. Sakura's back was turned to her as she folded, (or patted repeatedly in a distracted fashion), the same shirt a dozen times. "Something on your mind, Sakura-chan?" she asked curiously, not even trying to hide the prying in her voice.

"Sakura?" Kero also asked when she gave no answer. "Are you queasy from the flight or something?"

She inhaled suddenly and blinked rapidly. She grinned at them both and shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm fine – I'm _fine_," she insisted, when they both gave her knowing looks. "I think I'll go check on Syaoran-kun and see how he's doing with his unpacking," she announced. "Maybe he needs help. There's two of us and only one of him."

"I doubt he packed as much," Tomoyo muttered to herself as Sakura exited without another word, "I swear, all that man wears is a pressed suit. I don't care how expensive or finely tailored they are – it's _mundane_."

Sakura made no response, having not really heard what Tomoyo said. She was much too absorbed in her own thoughts to her anyone else's. And even though she knew Syaoran, the man who practically lived out of a suitcase, probably didn't need any help unpacking, she just had to go and see him.

The trip had begun on a really weird, uncomfortable note for the both of them – and she wasn't just talking about the suite confusion. She had been feeling strange since before they boarded the plane more than eleven hours ago and she knew he must've been feeling the same way. It was only right that they talk things out – for the sake of the trip and the purpose of their being in England in the first place.

She arrived at his room and knocked lightly on the door.

A short sigh was heard. "If that's anymore luggage, it's not mine, it belongs to the girls," he called out.

She cringed. "I-It's me," she called back.

There was some shuffling on the other side of the door. When it opened he was pulling on his jacket, staring at her in wonder. "Oh – h-hi," he said. "What are you doing up here?"

She shook her head, feeling embarrassed even though there was no real reason that she should have been feeling that way. "I… I was just wondering if you needed any help unpacking."

He shook his head. "Oh – no, it's fine," he said simply, then hastily added, "but thank you for offering."

She smiled. "Oh, no problem. Could I… come in?"

He hesitated for a moment. Slowly he said, "O-oh… well… okay, sure."

He let her inside and she saw that he had not finished unpacking at all. He had really only gotten out a few things – and it appeared as though he didn't care to do the rest of it for a while. In fact, it seemed as though he were getting ready to go out.

"Are you – are you going somewhere?" she asked, after a short inspection of her surroundings.

He nodded. "Yeah, I was just going to slip out quickly. I was going to be back in a little while."

Sakura smiled. "Oh, well, where are you going? Tomoyo-chan and I could come along and we could—"

"No, that's not necessary. You two should stay here and unwind. It was a long flight. It would be better if I went by myself, anyway."

"To where?" she asked curiously, her head tilted to one side.

When she asked so endearingly like that, it was hard for him to lie to her. But still – he had to.

"Nowhere in particular… I just have to run a quick errand. There's really no need to come along…"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he insisted.

She bit her lip and seemed to be thinking. He stared at her in this contemplative state, wondering how in blazes every single mood of hers could be so damn cute.

"I'd really like to get out of the hotel, though. I spend enough time at Yoshida Towers like this one. I know Tomoyo-chan would want to come along too, and we wouldn't have to worry about Kero-chan. He would probably like to stay by himself and order some movies on the TV. Would we be bothering you if we came along?"

He felt like groaning – partly because he just wanted to escape her, and mostly because he wanted to scream, _No, it wouldn't bother me! Come with me, spend this entire trip with me because I've been away from you for too long and I have to spend as much time with you as possible before you spend the rest of your live with another man_.

"Well… I suppose it wouldn't be too big a bother…"

She grinned and clapped her hands happily. "Really, Syaoran-kun? You don't mind?"

He half shrugged. He couldn't very well say that he _did_ mind, could he?

"Great! I'll go tell Tomoyo-chan. Where should I say we are going?"

He sighed. There was really no point in hiding the truth of his "errand" from her any more, not if she was just going to find out anyway by coming with him. If only he could cancel his actual plans and pretend his real chore was to buy groceries or something of that sort. But he was already expected at Eriol's house, having just confirmed his meeting with him minutes before her arrival at his door.

Cutting straight to the chase, he answered, "Hiiragizawa's."

She stared at him for a moment, her green eyes narrowing slightly, but not enough to make her look suspicious – just innocently curious. "You were going to Eriol-kun's?"

He nodded, averting his gaze to the floor. "Yeah."

"To ask him about what's been following you around and hurting you in your dreams?"

He nodded once more. "Yeah."

She was quiet again, this time longer. She folded her arms over her chest and crossed the room to the window so she could stare outside before turning on him, her eyes filled with confusion and, to Syaoran's misfortune, hurt as well.

"Why didn't you say so, Syaoran-kun?"

"I…" he began, trying to think of a legitimate excuse for leaving her out of this particularly important venture of the trip, "I just didn't want to bother you. This is _my_ problem, not anyone else's. I'm already burdening Yoshida by staying here free of charge – and now you and Daidouji by taking you away from your homes to go on this ridiculous hunt with me for answers we may not even get…"

He mentally applauded himself. It seemed like a valid enough explanation to him – he hoped it would seem as such to Sakura as well, but considering his luck the last few days, it probably wouldn't. Not right away, anyway.

"Are you sure that's why?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran's back went rigid as a board upon hearing her question. _Damn _– was she onto him? Had she suddenly realized that he was only trying to keep away from her, because he couldn't bear the torture? Because he couldn't look at her without his heart breaking? Maybe she had and his cover of indifference was blown.

Before he could answer or even begin to think of a response that would throw her off his trail, Sakura instead continued.

"Because it seems to me like you just… don't want me here."

He stared at her. "W – what?"

"Is that… is that not the case? Because in the car and just now, it's like you've been trying to get rid of me… I don't know what it is I've done to hurt you, Syaoran-kun, but I'm sorry. Really, I am. If it has anything to do with me not telling Kaito-kun about you… I'll tell him, I swear I will. If it means that much to you, to have him know about – us – before…"

Syaoran inwardly relished in the sound of the words escaping Sakura's mouth. Hearing her say that there was an "us" between himself and her was sweet music to his ears. Sometimes he just wanted to hear her acknowledge it, just so he could be sure that their entire relationship hadn't just been some ridiculous fantasy.

Shaking his head he interrupted, "No – Sakura, stop. This has… nothing to do with that."

She seemed to grow sadder, which certainly was not his intention. Suddenly he was panicked all over again.

"Then why have you been acting so strangely?" she asked desperately, and then continued to ramble, "Did I do something wrong? Is it because I brought Kero-chan along? I didn't know he would bother you so much, I already swore he would behave himself… please tell me what I can make right, I just can't stand to have you moody like this, you know it always upsets me—"

"Sakura… Sakura, stop," he said frantically, both hands out in front of him, trying to calm her down, because even when she was angry she was beautiful, and he wasn't sure if he could take much more of her adorable frenzy. "Take a breath."

"All… all right," Sakura agreed, realizing just how out of hand she had begun to act. She did as she was instructed by Syaoran and took not one, but several breaths.

"Everything is fine," he told her, surprising himself by taking her by the shoulders and making sure they were no longer tensed. "Really. I'll stop with the moodiness. You don't have to worry anymore."

"R-really?" she stuttered, her eyes becoming bright, and to see them as they usually were, so full of hope and light, it was almost worth it to lie to her.

He wasn't sure if he could actually guarantee her an awkward-free, non-moody trip from there on out. He was too proud and far too jealous to go along with whatever she wanted. If he could just make her believe this one time that it could be a pleasant trip for them all, and just escape whenever he could manage without making it too obvious what he was doing, then he would lie to her.

"Yes. I… I never meant for my behaviour to bother you. I guess I forgot just how much my moodiness bothered you," he said, half-smiling because that, at least, was the truth. "I just thought that…" he thought quickly of an excuse, and blurted, "maybe Yoshida wouldn't be comfortable letting you travel with me. He hardly knows me, after all. I thought maybe he didn't trust me fully to take care of someone so… important to him…" his eyes grew dim as he finished.

Sakura smiled at him, her eyes sad and understanding. "Oh, Syaoran-kun – why didn't you say so? It's not like that at all – Kaito-kun admires and respects you – he knows you'll take good care of me."

"He does?" Syaoran asked with no real tone of questioning in his thick voice.

"Of course, Syaoran-kun. He may not know about… well, our history, but I filled him in on enough for him to trust you with me."

His ears perked at the mention of their history, and how she had "filled him in".

"How much, exactly, did you let him know?" he asked curiously, and just to hide the prying in his voice quickly added, "Just so that I know when to keep my mouth shut about… certain things."

Once more facing his large window, Sakura wondered where to start. And while she thought, Syaoran moved forward with every intention of leaning against the window frame opposite her – but instead found himself just a few paces away from her, his hands in his pocket, watching her intently.

"Well, I told him that we were friends since grade school," she offered, which did not really do much to satisfy Syaoran's curiosity, considering Tomoyo had already mentioned that to him on their first meeting.

"And…?" he gently coaxed, still trying to make it seem as though he were asking for the sake of the conversation.

"And that you, along with Tomoyo-chan, were my best friends all throughout high school."

"Ah," Syaoran answered curtly. "I see."

He should have known that she would only mention those basic bits of information and nothing more. Without the reference to their previous romantic relationship or their adventures (and misadventures) as preteens capturing and transforming cards, everything else between them was a bore. Sighing, he moved to straighten and exit from the room.

"I told him about Meiling-chan, too," she further stated, smiling up at him.

Halted, Syaoran slowly returned to his position by the window. "Oh?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "How could I leave her out? We had so much fun together, and she did so much for us! I mean, without her, we might have never gotten together at the end of that summ—"

She broke off suddenly, realizing what exactly she was saying about their courtship. Apparently it was okay for them to mention the existence of their history and even make reference to an "us", but not okay to delve into too much detail about it.

She looked down at her hands, unsure of where to go from there. Syaoran, equally as uncomfortable and uncertain as she was, didn't know what else to say. However, there was one thing that he was just dying to know, and if he didn't ask now, he wasn't sure if he would ever get the opportunity, or the confidence, to bring it up again.

"Daidouji tells me that… that you haven't told Yoshida anything about your magic."

Sakura smiled nervously, but Syaoran was sure that he could detect some sadness as well. "H-hoe… oh, Tomoyo-chan told you about that?"

He shrugged and suddenly felt worried that perhaps Tomoyo was not at liberty to say anything about it to him, and that maybe he had gotten her into trouble with Sakura. "Well – I asked her about it."

Sakura returned the shrug and moved her gaze from his face to the floor. "It's okay. I don't mind that she mentioned it. Actually, I'm glad she did. I don't want him finding out from anyone other than me."

"And…" Syaoran hesitated, wondering if he was overstepping his boundaries as the ex-boyfriend by asking too many questions about the current fiancé. "When are you going to tell him?"

She put a hand to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut and scrunching her nose up in that terribly gorgeous way that he adored. She sighed. "I – I don't know, Syaoran-kun. Soon, I suppose. Maybe we should get going—"

"You suppose?" he echoed with some surprise, unable to stop himself. "Sakura, it's a wonder you haven't already let him know after two years of dating."

Immediately after saying what had been on his mind since the moment Tomoyo told him about it, he wanted to slap himself. Magic was the last, precious thing he shared with Sakura that Kaito was purposefully being kept away from – so why was he complaining?

"I know," Sakura practically wailed, shaking her head slightly, her eyes still shut and nose scrunched. "I just… I never got around to telling him. It was too big of a secret, I was afraid of how he would react, I – I've been stupid to let it go this far without telling him the truth, I _know_—"

"Sakura," he said, stopping her. Slowly he looked up to meet her anxious, emerald eyes so that she might see how serious and selfless he was being, if only just a glimpse. "If you love him, you need to tell him," he told her, his voice a shadow of its usual confident, firm tone. "Your magic is one of the biggest parts of your life. You should be with… with a man who knows about it, who you can share it with without worrying what he thinks about it… with a man who you can be honest with."

After an agonizing pause, Sakura said, "You're… you're right." She looked away from him for a moment and carefully returned her gaze to his intense amber stare. "I – I'm sorry, by the way."

He looked confused. "For what?"

"Just… for that mistake, earlier," she said, waving her arms about her as if to bring the memory of it back. "With the hotel manager and us and her thinking you were my fiancé…"

He shook his head at the apology. "That wasn't your fault. I told her we were together."

"Y-you did?" she asked, sounding both alarmed and surprised.

"Well – I only meant that we were all supposed to be given the penthouse suite, not that we were…"

"Oh," she said suddenly, smiling wanly. "Of course that was what you meant. Sorry, I…"

From outside his door they heard the elevator opening and Tomoyo's loud, rambunctious voice echoing through the whole floor.

"Sakura-chan! Li-kun! Where are you guys? I'm tired of unpacking! Let's do something fun! Hello? Am I talking to myself here? Come out, come out wherever you—"

The bedroom door swung open, revealing a curious Tomoyo who had immediately laid eyes upon her two friends standing by the window, just a few inches away from each other, staring carefully at one another. They were, however, torn away from the other's gaze at once upon Tomoyo's entrance.

"Sorry," she apologized, not sounding the least bit apologetic. In fact, she sounded pleased with herself. "Was I interrupting…?"

Sakura smiled brightly, apparently not perturbed by the disruption. If anything, she looked grateful. Abruptly she stood and took Tomoyo's hand, leading her out of Syaoran's room. "No, not at all. Come on, let's go get our coats. Syaoran-kun's going to take us to see Eriol-kun."

"Now?" Tomoyo asked, following her back to the elevator. "So soon?"

Syaoran who had stood and was following them so that he might join them on the first floor answered, "I don't waste time. Anyway, Hiiragizawa is anxious to see us."

"You told him we were coming, then?" Tomoyo wondered as they all filled the elevator and began descending.

Syaoran bit his lip. He hadn't really told him that Sakura and Tomoyo had accompanied him on the journey, more like warned him. But that did not bother Eriol in the slightest – in fact, he seemed just as happy as the girls that they would all be together again like the old days. He was all too eager to hang up the phone and await a visit by all three of them.

"I told him you two were making the trip with me. He thinks I'm coming alone, though. I guess this will just be a pleasant surprise," he answered.

Tomoyo clapped her hands, "Oh, I _love_ surprises!"

They exited and dispersed among the first floor, Syaoran heading to the lounge area so that he could wait for the girls to get their things.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura called. "Come out here, please?" He fluttered out of the girls' shared bedroom looking irritated.

"What?" he asked. "You made me pause the movie!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and took her coat as well as Tomoyo's from off the couch which they had earlier tossed them on. "We're going out to see Eriol-kun. I know you might want to come to see Suppie-chan, but—"

"Oh, can I come? Can I come? Can I come _please_?"

Eyes shut to ward off the migraine that Kero was sure to give him, Syaoran answered firmly, "No."

Kero looked simply devastated. "B-but – w-why? You're not the boss of me, gaki, you can't—"

"He's out of the country with Ruby Moon. It's just Hiiragizawa at the house. Now do you still want to come?"

Kero frowned looking more annoyed than before. "Just that four-eyed reincarnation of my master? Oh, forget it. He's no fun. Go ahead and leave me here. You guys always try to exclude me. You never want my company. Hmph!"

Syaorna felt like snorting. He was certainly right about that.

Sakura went to his side and Tomoyo to his other, and they petted him for forgiveness. "We'll bring you back something sweet and let you order as much movies as you want."

He still was not appeased.

"I also brought that hand-held video game you like so much," Sakura offered, hoping that would help some. "_And_ you can raid the fridge…"

Slowly he broke out into a smile. "Thanks you guys! You're the best!" And with narrowed eyes he leaned out of the girls' strokes of his back and glared at Syaoran. "Except you, obviously."

"Of course," Syaoran muttered, highly annoyed. "Can we go now?"

"I think I'll just use the rest room before we head out," Tomoyo announced. "You can get the car ready downstairs if you want, Li-kun."

He nodded wordlessly and left to do as she suggested, not waiting for Sakura, making her wonder if she had just imagined the words they had exchanged just a few minutes prior.

Frowning she took a seat in the lounge as Tomoyo did her business. With Kero disappearing into their bedroom once more to resume the movie he was watching, she was left alone to ponder the words that Syaoran had so wisely told her only moments before. It was nothing that Tomoyo had not already said to her after her months, and now years of dating Kaito. But hearing it come from Syaoran felt like something else entirely to her.

He had seemed so earnest and honest about the whole situation. How brave of him, she thought, that he could insist on her sharing that part of her life with Kaito without feeling jealousy… but why should he feel jealous, she sighed. As she always reminded herself, _he_ was the one to call things off between them.

And yet, there he was once again in her life, stirring within her feelings she'd thought that she'd put behind her long ago. Why, oh _why_ was it his face that formed in her mind when he was describing the type of man she should be with? A man who knew about her magic, a man who she could share it with, a man who she could be honest with… so far, Kaito didn't fit the soul mate criteria.

When Tomoyo exited the rest room, her head was already in her hands.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said worriedly, "what's wrong?"

She smiled and did her best to mask her confused and contrasting emotions but with no avail. "Nothing. Let's head down to the lobby, ne?"

"You can tell me, Sakura-chan. Did Li-kun say something?"

"No, nothing," she insisted, the smile still plastered on her face while waving her hands about to dismiss the conversation. She did not want Tomoyo to feel as though Syaoran was to blame for her inanity. "I had a little… traveler's headache. It's gone now, though. Let's hurry; Syaoran-kun is waiting for us."

She led the way out of the penthouse and into the elevator. Arriving in the lobby where the brunette woman tried to hide her face in embarrassment, a doorman told them Syaoran was already waiting inside the car. They joined him in silence until they realized that he was sitting in the driver's seat with his hands on the wheel.

"Where are your friends?" Tomoyo asked in wonder.

"I got rid of them," Syaoran told them both as Sakura slid into the passenger's seat and Tomoyo into the back. "Who knows how long we'll be at Hiiragizawa's. The driver would have to wait hours. Anyway, there's no telling what we'll get ourselves into while we're here – we might be dealing with some magic. It's best not to have anyone else there besides the four of us."

"Good thinking," Tomoyo said, giving her approval, which Syaoran did not need. And he showed her so by shrugging in response.

"Seatbelts," he ordered, just before setting off into the road.

The girls buckled themselves in promptly and soon they were off on their first venture of the trip.

"Is Mizuki-san there with Eriol-kun as well?" Sakura asked excitedly, the thought of spending time with old friends enough to make her forget about her complicated situation, if only for just a little while.

Syaoran shrugged once more. "He didn't mention."

"I guess we'll find out," said Tomoyo as she tried to get a view from outside the car window. "This rain is really starting to get on my nerves… next time, can we go somewhere sunny?"

Syaoran grunted. If only there _would_ be a next time.

Sakura giggled at Tomoyo's question and adjusted the settings of the radio. With any luck she would find a decent station and be too distracted by the music to notice Syaoran sweating in his expensive suit. The fact that she still had such an effect on him was, in his mind, simply pathetic on his part.

Sooner than they had realized they were in Eriol's ridiculously large driveway, which was nothing compared to the mansion of a home that he lived in. As usual, Sakura was the only one of the three to stare up at the structure beneath the umbrella, amazed by its size and sophisticated appearance. Eriol really must have been doing well.

Syaoran held the large umbrella above all their heads, standing behind the girls as they approached the front door. They rang the doorbell which they heard, resonating like church bells inside the home and soon they were greeted with the kind, gray eyes behind square glasses that they were all so familiar with.

"Eriol-kun!" Sakura bubbled, throwing her arms around him in a friendly hug, annoying Syaoran immensely. She released him so that Tomoyo could give him a similar embrace, however theirs seemed to last just a heartbeat longer than his with her. From behind them Syaoran gave a curt nod to which Eriol returned with a gentle smile.

"I'm so glad to see all of you," he said happily, looking ever the same, just slightly more handsome than he already was back in the fifth grade. His blue hair remained in the same style and his height matched Syaoran's evenly. He gave all three of them welcoming stares, finally ending with Tomoyo, who he continued to stare at for a little while longer.

"Ditto!" Sakura exclaimed, stepping inside as Eriol made way for their entrance, taking off her shoes on the dry rug and inserting her cold feet into the warm slippers they were all given. "It's been such a long time!"

"Too long," Eriol agreed, leading the way to the wonderfully decorated parlour. They all took a seat around the warm fire that blazed quietly in the hearth and all gladly warmed their toes and fingers. "I'm glad we could see each other again." He began pouring the tea and passing the cups and offering the biscuits he had prepared.

Syaoran felt like grunting once more. Was he the only one that was not taking this trip as the school reunion they were all faking it to be? This was _business_. If he let it become anything other than that, he was in serious danger of falling even more in love with Sakura than he already was. And that, he knew, would just not do anyone any good.

"About the issue I've been having," Syaoran began, hoping they wouldn't have to take a stroll down memory lane. "We tried—"

"Really, Syaoran, that can wait. Why don't we catch up?" Eriol interrupted, his eyes still on Tomoyo.

"Yeah!" the girls chimed, as if he was the one that was ruining the plans. "We have all the time in the world to talk about that. How have you been, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked, leaning in eagerly. "How is everything? And where is Mizuki-san?" she asked, having a look around the room to see if she was present.

Eriol smiled. "Kaho and I have stopped seeing each other," he admitted.

Sakura's hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, Eriol-kun! I'm sorry! I had no idea, please forgive me for bringing it up, I'm such a _dolt_—"

He frowned and shook his head. "You are no such thing, Sakura-san. There was no way you would have known that we decided to go our separate ways. It's really all right. We separated on more than amicable terms, anyway."

"I'm so happy to hear that," said Tomoyo. Her three friends turned to give her strange stares. "I mean – it's good to hear that you two parted on good terms – not that… not that I'm happy to hear that you two are no longer together. I didn't mean that at _all_."

Eriol laughed, apparently finding the statement sincerely funny. "I know what you meant, Tomoyo, it's fine, really. Is it… all right, that I call you Tomoyo?" he asked, realizing that he had not included the "-san" suffix that he usually did with her.

She nodded. "Of course, Eriol-kun. We're good enough friends for you to not include any suffix at the end of my name anymore."

"Really," he answered, seeming pleased. "Then… I'd like for you to do the same for me."

Syaoran and Sakura looked between their two friends, confused.

"O-oh… well, sure… I mean, if you wouldn't mind…" Tomoyo responded, and – was that a pink hue that was appearing in her cheeks, or were Syaoran and Sakura imagining things?

There was a short silence which followed as Eriol and Tomoyo stared at one another.

"Hoe…?"

Eriol seemed to snap out of his reverie at Sakura's quiet expel of breath. "Tell me, Sakura-san, how are things with you? And you, Syaoran?"

"Everything's been just fine," Sakura told him, "we're very happy at home." She was, of course, referring to herself and Tomoyo because, who else could she mean?

"I imagine you two would be," he said, eyeing her left hand. "I guess it was only a matter of time before you two got engaged."

The engagement ring around Sakura's finger suddenly seemed to burn red hot. She flinched at his words and cringed, realizing that he of course would not have known about her break up with Syaoran all those years ago. How could two people in one day mistake Syaoran for her fiancé? It really must have been a very off afternoon.

"N-no, I… Syaoran-kun and I are just… we aren't…"

Just like earlier before, she could not bring herself to deny that she and Syaoran were not a couple. It was up to Syaoran once more to clear up the confusion, which he was both glad and unhappy to do.

"We're not together anymore either," he said quietly.

Inwardly he wondered whether he should've been happy about this particular mistake, or just irritated. First the hotel manager and now Eriol… maybe the universe really was trying to torment him, he supposed.

"You're… not?" Eriol asked, clearly bewildered. Was it really that hard to believe? With the disapproving look he was being given by Tomoyo, apparently it was. "But – why? I mean – God, I'm sorry. How stupid of me. Um – you're new fiancé – is he…?" He actually had no idea what to ask about this new beau of Sakura's, but he just had to switch topics somehow.

"His name is Yoshida Kaito," Sakura announced.

Eriol looked further confused. "You… you don't mean _the_ Yoshida Kaito? The owner of the…"

"Yoshida Towers? Yup, the very one," Syaoran finished for him, squeezing his cup of tea harder than he meant to.

Sakura was smiling proudly. Despite all the strange emotions she had been feeling since the start of their journey, she still could not help feeling pride over being with someone as amazing and accomplished as Kaito.

"Oh, well…" Eriol began unsurely. "That's wonderful. I… offer you my congratulations," he finished with some hesitation.

"Thanks, Eriol-kun. You're invited to the wedding, of course."

"Oh, I… I wouldn't miss it for the world, Sakura-san."

If only Syaoran could say the same thing.

"Why don't you guys tell me about Keroberos and Yukito-san? How are they both?" Eriol questioned hurriedly, attempting to lift the awkward tension that had suddenly blanketed them all. To his delight it worked out as he had hoped, and soon Sakura was going on about how Yukito was enjoying the world while he was away on digs with Touya all the time, and how Kero was still as gluttonous as ever.

Erio listened attentively as he always did, but was also aware of the other things in the room, such as the unusual quietness in Syaoran and the sad stare that Tomoyo had in her eyes when Sakura switched topics to her upcoming nuptial with Kaito. A lot had changed since the three of them parted ways all those years ago, it seemed. And it was only after a few minutes of being with them again that Eriol was sure that things were not as they should be, and he would have to change that – soon.

_**xxx**_.

**Author Notes:** Yay, Eriol, Tomoyo, Syaoran and Sakura! I love writing about these four!

Some of you were wondering whether or not KahoxEriol would be canon in this story… well, if you read thoroughly, you got your answer! Also, sincere apologies to those who waited a while for this chapter to be posted. I have been super busy with work and school. Wah!

As always, if you liked/disliked the chapter, please take the time to leave me a review! Hearing from you guys is one of the best parts of my week!

I hope everyone is enjoying July!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	8. Date Night

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter eight!

**Casting Shadows**

_Date Night_

Despite Syaoran's clear disapproval of the afternoon's get-together, Tomoyo, Sakura and Eriol continued to talk about their days as preteens together, seeming to recall every last memory they all shared – and there were _many_. They laughed, told stories and made jokes and simply left the matter of the strange sensation aside to discuss for later. No matter how hard Syaoran tried to bring it up into the conversation, they'd shush him and try to rope him into joining their stroll down memory lane.

It was almost a full hour later when Eriol realized they were out of tea. He stood and excused himself from the parlor to refill the kettle with more tea and the tray with more biscuits. He turned to ask Tomoyo for a hand in the kitchen, which would have surprised both Syaoran and Sakura, were it not for the affectionate stares he'd been giving her for almost sixty minutes straight.

"Sure," Tomoyo agreed lightly, moving to stand up.

Having a thought, Syaoran held out a hand to stop her from straightening and insisted, "Why don't I give you a hand instead," he suggested.

Eriol, not wanting to make a fuss over who accompanied him, shrugged and said, "Sure, why don't you follow me to the kitchen, Syaoran?"

Together the two men exited the parlor, crossed the foyer area into the dining room where Eriol pushed a door open, revealing the finely supplied kitchen area. A long island with barstools along the perimeter of it stood in the middle of the wide room and steel fridges lined the walls. Pots and pans hung from hooks and clean marble countertops gave the room a ridiculously sanitary aura.

Eriol began to boil water for the new pot and walked over to a pantry where he could select a new variety of biscuits. He remained focused on his chores as he began with Syaoran.

"I was a little surprised when you asked to come with me, but I have a feeling that you're not here to actually help me."

"No," Syaoran ground out, annoyed, "I'm here because you had offered _your_ help."

Eriol rolled his eyes. "Syaoran, relax. We'll get around to that problem… eventually."

"Am I the only one here who isn't treating this trip like a damn vacation?" he interrupted hotly. "I didn't come here for _fun_. This isn't a school reunion! This is _business_. I thought you of all people would understand that, considering you were always the serious one of us, but apparently all you want to do is gawk at Daidouji all day."

Eriol was laughing lightly. "Oh, Syaoran, you really do have to calm down. You don't want Sakura-san to see you spewing like this, do you?"

Syaoran scowled at the man who had, for a long time, been like his brother – or annoying cousin, more like. "Shut up."

He held up his hands in mock-surrender. "All right, all right. Sorry. What kind of biscuits do you think Tomoyo would like?" he wondered aloud, still scanning the pantry.

Syaoran gave an annoyed moan. "Who cares?" He leaned against the counter next to the pantry and seethed momentarily before gathering up enough courage to ask, "What the hell are you doing, anyway? No matter how much of a pain Daidouji is, she's my friend. She isn't a girl you think you can start seeing because you and Mizuki-san ended things."

Eriol shrugged with one shoulder. "I would've thought you'd be happy that at least I wasn't giving all my attention to Sakura-san like I did before."

Syaoran grunted in response. "She's engaged already, Hiiragizawa. There's no point in caring." At least, he _tried_ not to care.

"Right," Eriol answered at the mention of Sakura's new beau, nodding his head slowly. "Soon to be Yoshida Sakura-san, hm? How in the world did that happen? I would've put money on the world ending before a split between you two."

Suddenly, Syaoran was uncomfortable. He adjusted his gaze to the floor and shook his head slightly from side to side, more or less trying to convey, "I don't know."

"Okay, I get it," Eriol said in a low voice. "You don't want to talk about it. That's fine with me."

Syaoran went silent for a moment before deciding to switch topics. "This isn't about me and her. I'm speaking for Sakura when I say; you can't start things with Daidouji if you just want to get over Mizuki-san."

Eriol was laughing again. "Syaoran, relax. You're just as cynical as always. It's nothing like that. Kaho and I have been apart for years. I've been spending time by myself for a long time and… I don't know. I always found myself wondering about Tomoyo. Was she happy? What ever happened to her after I left Tomoeda? I don't know why, but she was constantly on my mind. All I can tell you is that I have genuine feelings for her, I can assure you that. I think a relationship between the two of us would be… interesting, if anything. Wouldn't you agree, Syaoran?"

Again, Syaoran found himself squirming in discomfort. "Whatever… could you just… leave that between the two of you? If you don't remember, we have more important things to discuss. Like the strange aura that's been stalking me and Sakura and doing _this_ to me in my sleep," he said, rolling up his sleeve and revealing the bruises that were almost faded since the last time he showed them to the girls.

"I've been feeling strange sensations too," Eriol admitted, earning himself a gaping look from Syaoran.

"You have?" he asked in an accusatory tone. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't have to. It turned out you'd be the one to come to me. I had no idea that you and Sakura-san were experiencing the same thing – I thought it was just some weird side effect of being Clow reincarnate. Sorry," he said with a shrug, not sounding at all apologetic.

Syaoran relaxed his glare momentarily to hear the rest of Eriol's explanation.

"I've been probing some of the memories that Clow Reed left with me to find some answers for almost a month now – and we have a lot to talk about," he continued. "But first, I have to ask you – has it been doing that to you a lot lately?" he wondered, referring to his arm. Simply by the diminishing colour of the bruises, he could probably tell that it had not, but still he asked.

"No," Syaoran answered. "But, the night I found Sakura again, she passed out because of the strength in the aura."

"And have you or her felt other truly strong sensations with the same or similar effects since then?"

"No," he answered again, "But—"

"Then it can wait," Eriol said with a dismissive smile. "Same with the discovery that I came upon that concerns you. _I_have a problem of my own that I want you to help me with first."

Syaoran scoffed at this, frustrated with how easily he could just toss the problem aside. "_You_ have a problem? Hiiragizawa, don't be ridiculous. Why don't you tell me what you discovered and then we can get started on some research to find out how to get rid of this thing following us—"

"Help me first," Eriol said, almost in a challenging tone, "and then I'll tell you."

"Are you _blackmailing_ me?" he asked. His amber eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh no," Eriol disagreed. "What I'm doing is withholding information until you help me do something. It's more like bribery," he ended in a cheerful note, which was so "Eriol" of him that Syaoran just could not help but to roll his hands into fists and growl.

"All right – fine!" exclaimed Syaoran. "What do you want?"

A slow smile crept about his cheeks, and was it just Syaoran or was there some shyness mixed with his usual mischievous grin?

"I want you to help me get Tomoyo out on a date."

_**xxxxxx**_

For ten minutes the boys had been in the kitchen, arguing. It was a wonder that the girls had not been back there to check up on them – Syaoran could only assume that Sakura had her own questions for Tomoyo, because dense as she was sometimes, she certainly was not blind. Much like him and Eriol, they were probably having their very own talk, only "girl" style and probably a lot less awkward.

"How many times do I have to say it?" Syaoran demanded, backing up from Eriol as if that could ward off more of his pleas. "You are asking the wrong man!"

"Syaoran, would you stop insulting yourself?" Eriol retorted, irked by his friend's immaturity towards the whole situation. "I wouldn't ask you if I knew you couldn't help. For the hundredth time, just relax. For heaven's sake, we're grown men."

"So what do you need my help for?" Syaoran insisted. "You're a grown man – like you said. Do this yourself."

"Oh don't be so stupid, Syaoran," said Eriol, "We both know Tomoyo won't say yes at first. She's gone her whole life concerning herself with Sakura-san's love life instead of her own. She's going to be hesitant, and I'm going to need you to convince her to do this with me."

"Sakura could get her to agree to going on this date without me," he told him, which was probably true.

"But with the both of you, she'll _definitely_ agree, without even thinking about it!" Eriol said excitedly, "Especially if…"

Syaoran's eyes narrowed at sensing the familiar tone of mischief that Eriol usually had in his voice. "Especially if what?"

Eriol smiled both deviously and pleadingly at Syaoran. "Especially if I tell her by the two of us going out on a date, it would leave you and Sakura-san alone together."

Syaoran held out his arms in front of him, waving his hands in dismissal of the idea. "No, Hiiragizawa. Not a chance. What is it with you and Daidouji? It's like you two share one mind! Sakura is _engaged_, you two can't just keeping pushing her to her ex-boyfriend, it isn't right."

"Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't appreciate the time alone with her?"

Syaoran flushed pink momentarily before regaining his angry composure. "W-well… that is beside the issue. It's better for the both of us if we spend less time with each other, anyway. She—"

"You mean better for _you_?" Eriol said, this time with a knowing smile.

"Oh, shut up, Hiiragizawa. Why is everyone trying to make this trip about romance? I _knew_ I should've just left them at the Tower."

Eriol's eyes widened at this. "You're staying at the Yoshida Tower?" he asked.

Grumbling, Syaoran answered grudgingly, "He practically forced us into the penthouse." Eriol let out a low whistle. "Free of charge," he added, and Eriol proceeded to drop his jaw slightly.

"Wow, Syaoran. He's making you look like an average Joe."

"Don't remind me," he bit out.

Suddenly Eriol clapped him confidently on the back. "This is why you need the time alone with Sakura-san! Consider it a gift, from Tomoyo and myself – she'll be married off to Yoshida soon, you realize that? Come on, don't you want to spend some time with her before she's _completely_ attached to another man?"

Syaoran remained silent. He knew it would be better to just not reply and storm off, rather than admit his yearning to savour the few moments he could have with an unmarried Sakura, but he knew Eriol would probably not let the subject rest until he got an answer. But all he could muster was, "Well… I… I…"

"And don't forget," Eriol chimed, holding up his index finger to his face, "after a successful date with Tomoyo, I can spill what I've learned about you after a month of examining Clow's memories…" Eriol allowed the sentence to trail off like a string with a dollar bill attached to it, hoping Syaoran would get hold of it like the bait that it represented.

"Trust me," he pressed, "it'll be worth your while."

Syaoran glared at him for a long time before releasing a long breath. "I'll help you," he muttered darkly, his eyes not meeting Eriol's. "But I'm only doing this because I want to know what you're keeping from me. You can tell Daidouji that the reason behind your date is to give me and Sakura alone time, but we don't actually have to have it. Understand?"

Eriol was frowning at him. "Well, that's no fun."

"Well, what does it matter to you if I end up working on the second floor of the suite while she watches movies with the plush toy on the first? As long as you and Daidouji have your… er, fun, that's all that counts, right?"

"I suppose," Eriol said reluctantly. "It would just be nice if you and Sakura-san could get to—"

"Get to what?" Sakura asked, abruptly entering with Tomoyo.

"What was taking you?" questioned Tomoyo, looking about herself to see if she could find her answer somewhere there in the kitchen. "We were waiting forever."

"S-sorry," Syaoran apologized, looking for something that would make him look occupied. He spotted the kettle with their newly boiled water and descended upon it, putting in a fresh sprinkle of tea leaves into the filter. "W-we were just… just…"

"Actually," Eriol began smoothly, completely at his ease. "Syaoran and I were making plans for this evening."

"Oh, really?" Sakura asked, clearly enthusiastic over the prospect of spending more time together with her friends.

Her question was directed at Syaoran. Suddenly in a state of panic, having never dealt with this "romance business", as he called it, for a very long time, was not sure where to begin.

"Y-yeah, Hiiragizawa thought… h-he thought that maybe he could – Daidouji – um – uh…"

Eriol looked as though he were slowly dying the more he listened to Syaoran attempt a conversation about dating. He couldn't take it for much longer, he just had to interrupt to save his friend from his sorry state.

"Syaoran – why don't you take the pot and the biscuits with Sakura-san into the parlor? Tomoyo and I will join you both in a moment."

Relieved, he nodded without a word and took the tea, showed Sakura which biscuits they chose from the pantry and exited in a hurry. He was more than confident that Eriol would be able to successfully ask Tomoyo out on a date, especially if he did as planned and presented it as a scheme to get him alone with Sakura… the only thing left for him to do was wait for them in the parlor, then encourage Tomoyo to accept.

Quickly he set down the tea and began filled the emptied cups. Sakura took the cookies from the plastic container and spread them out on the plate, glancing at Syaoran in curiosity.

"Syaoran-kun, what was that about?"

"W-what?" he asked, "What was what about?"

"You've been acting so strangely since we got here," she said to him, putting the cookies away and sitting beside him. She did not seem to notice how he scooted away from her onto the other side of the couch. "Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun are acting really weird, too. Is there something—?"

"No, nothing," Syaoran answered quickly, realizing too late that he didn't even let her finish her sentence, which must have looked very suspicious on his part. "I – I mean, we're not acting strangely. Well, I don't think I'm behaving any differently… maybe Daidouji and Hiiragizawa are… are…"

She tilted her head slightly. "Are…?"

"Are… um… I don't know, maybe we should ask them… Hiiragizawa, there you are!" he practically cried in relief, standing up quickly when he saw him enter. He wasn't even the one that was going to go on the date and yet he was the only one of the four of them acting like an idiot.

His hand was on the small of Tomoyo's back as he re-entered the parlor with her, and they were both apparently laughing at something.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, looking to her best friend and then back at Eriol. "Um… Eriol and I were thinking… we should do something tonight."

"Right," she nodded, grinning at her two friends, "Eriol-kun mentioned. What did you guys have in mind?"

Tomoyo blushed slightly, the pink on her cheeks matching attractively with her amethyst eyes. "Actually… Eriol was thinking that it would just be… well… um, the two of us." By the time she finished, her cheeks were a brighter shade of pink and her eyes were shining ridiculously bright with anxiety and excitement.

Sakura paused for a moment to digest her words. And then she said, "_Oh_."

"Is that okay?" Tomoyo quickly asked, coming to her best friend's side on the couch and taking her hands, "I know we wanted to make this trip together, but it was just an idea that Eriol had – if you'd rather that I didn't go, we could just all do something together and—"

"Don't be silly, Tomoyo-chan, of course I don't mind!" Sakura exclaimed, as if the idea of denying her best friend this date was a crime against humanity. "You don't have to worry about me – you deserve to be taken out. I think it's a great idea, Eriol-kun," she said, this time to Eriol, her own emerald eyes filled with gratitude for asking Tomoyo out, as well as approval of it. He winked in response.

"Are you sure?" she demanded. "I don't mind staying in with you at all. I don't even know if I want to—"

Eriol gave Syaoran a pressuring glance. He guessed that was his cue to uphold his part of the bargain.

"Don't be ridiculous, Daidouji," he started, taking Eriol's hint immediately. "Didn't Hiiragizawa… tell you the secondary purpose of this outing?"

Sakura's eyebrows rose. "What secondary purpose?"

No one attempted to answer the question. Instead, Tomoyo smiled, surprised and said, "Oh, Eriol told you about that, did he?"

Answering the _real_ question she was just dying to ask, which was, "Do you want the night alone with Sakura-chan?" he responded, "I think you should go with Hiiragizawa."

This time it was Tomoyo's eyebrows that rose. "You do?"

He nodded, not even bothering to hide his irritation. "Yeah, I do. We don't mind being… left alone," he muttered, shrugging with his eyes downcast.

"See?" Eriol said to Tomoyo, touching her shoulder. "What did I tell you? Syaoran thinks it's a great idea for us to go out. He and Sakura-san can have their own fun!"

Syaoran bared his teeth to stop himself from growling. "Right," he answered tightly.

"Well… all right then," Tomoyo began, sounding very pleased and no longer worried over leaving her best friend for the night. "I guess it would be all right for me to go out with you tonight after all, Eriol."

Sakura looked up from her seat on the couch to make eye contact with Syaoran, who was standing beside her. It seemed as though she was trying to discern how he felt about the idea of them spending the night together.

"I don't want to tire Tomoyo out just yet," Eriol said to the three of them, "so I think it would be best that you all return to your hotel."

"Good idea," Tomoyo concluded, nodding in agreement. "Eriol, how should I dress for tonight?"

"Wear anything," he said honestly, "you'll look perfect no matter where we go."

Yet again they shared a private moment with one another, staring into each other's eyes shyly but tenderly, leaving Sakura to withhold her squealing and Syaoran to fidget embarrassedly in his spot.

"Well, then, we should get going," he finally said, when the silence grew too long to bear. "Hiiragizawa, come by the penthouse at seven. She'll be ready by then."

"Seven it is," Eriol agreed pleasantly, walking them all out of the parlor and to the front door where he helped the girls into their other shoes. "See you then, Tomoyo. You as well, Sakura-san. Syaoran." He said in goodbye, nodding to them both.

The girls waved as Syaoran quickly left for the car, opening the umbrella and calling the girls over to get underneath it. He unlocked their doors and helped them inside before seating himself into the driver's seat once more. As the girls giggled and bubbled over the evening's upcoming event, Syaoran attempted to tune out their conversation as best he could with the radio and the sound of rain hurling itself against the window.

The pair of them had not yet paused for breath by the time they returned to the Yoshida Tower. Syaoran's attitude of annoyance and unease remained with him as they entered the lobby, ascended with the elevator and finally when they arrived on the first floor of the penthouse.

Sakura immediately went to start Tomoyo's bath (because apparently a normal shower wouldn't suffice for her date) while Tomoyo herself went to throw out a dozen items of clothing on to her bed inside the room they shared, so that they'd be ready to pick and choose what was suitable once the bath was finished. As they told Kero how seeing Eriol went and about his reincarnated master asking out Tomoyo, Syaoran sat on their couch and waited for someone to notice him.

Sakura then raced out of her bedroom and into their kitchen where she began opening and closing cupboards. Finally she cried, "There you are!" and quickly poured water into the teapot she found on one side of the kitchen counter.

"Syaoran-kun, I'm going to make some tea while I wait for the bath to fill up, will you have one? I have just _got_ to calm Tomoyo-chan's nerves. Can you believe this? She hasn't been on a date in such a long time!" she squealed excitedly, crossing the short distance to sit with him on the couch.

"I'm glad for her," he responded honestly, hoping she wouldn't think he was saying so, just for the sake of conversation.

"Me too," she sighed, a wistful smile on her face. "I really hope things go over well."

"So do I," he concurred. "But you better go keep her company. I can watch the tea."

She nodded eagerly and stood. He followed suit, intending to literally watch the tea by sitting on a stool and waiting for the water to boil. He felt a light touch to his arm and he turned to see her giving him a probing stare.

"Syaoran-kun, I hope you don't feel like you _have_ to hang out with me once she's gone on the date," she said to him, looking unsure of herself. "I know you just wanted to reassure Tomoyo-chan that I wouldn't be alone tonight. But if you have business to attend to tonight, or you're too tired, or—"

He lowered his own gaze so as not to feel the heat from her captivating stare. "Well… we've still got a few more hours 'til she leaves for the date. We should just wait 'till then to see how we're both feeling about doing something."

She did not respond, only gave a short smile and nodded in her agreement. Finally re-joining Tomoyo in their bedroom, she shut the door behind her.

He exhaled a nervous sigh and approached the pot, dragging a bar stool from the island and bringing it with him. He plopped himself down on the seat and proceeded to do the same with his head, instead laying it down upon his folded arms which were atop the counter. He watched in boredom as the water began to simmer. After a few minutes he brewed the tea and poured it into the cups – but he knew it was no use. The girls had probably forgotten about it, considering their excitement.

Sighing, he trudged to the in-suite elevator to get to his own floor, maybe call Meiling and take a nap. With any luck, his night alone with Sakura would be just as dismal as his afternoon had been thus far.

_**xxxxxx**_

It turned out that taking a nap would not be a successful venture. After phoning Meiling for a shorter conversation than he was hoping for, he had changed into his favourite pair of plaid green pyjama pants and a grey t-shirt and gotten into bed. He laid on his mattress for almost an hour, staring at the ceiling, not seeing the white painted wall, but Sakura's face instead.

To get him out of his funk, he decided that perhaps some training with his sword would shake the thoughts of her from his head, but he found it incredibly hard to keep balance. In a pathetic attempt to do _something_ and take her off his mind, he returned to his bed once more but remained sitting up, eyes on the TV which he turned on and browsed through for another long while.

He finally decided on a tragic looking soap opera that was on, but was so heavily accented in old English that he could not understand a word of it. Still, trying to decipher what those people were feeling on TV was better than doing the same for the people currently in his life.

To his dismay, the end credits began to roll and an odd documentary on the countryside came on instead. He had been watching a marathon of episodes from the soap for who knows how long, and things were just starting to get on. A woman had clearly cheated on her husband and the poor fellow just found out the truth. The aftermath was going to be on the next episode, but apparently it would be aired the following day.

Groaning, he threw his feet over the side of the bed and checked the time. It was half past six to his complete surprise. It was nearly time for Tomoyo's big date.

Dragging himself out of his bedroom, he went to pay a visit to the girls on the other floor. It was a miracle they had not bothered him the entire time they were on their own separate floors. Perhaps it would be the same once Tomoyo had gone and he and Sakura would remain separated until she returned from the outing.

When the elevator doors slid aside, he entered their lounge and went over to their bedroom. Just as he was about to knock, their door flung open, nearly making him fall over. They apologized and quickly stepped in front of the mirror which hung off one of the walls in the lounge that he had just come from. Rolling his eyes he strode over to them, then took a seat on the couch.

"And how have preparations been?" he asked, pretending to sound interested.

"Good," Sakura answered, tucking wisps of her best friend's hair behind her ears as they both stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Where have you been?"

"In my room," he answered monotonously. "Hiiragizawa will be here soon. Relax, please, the both of you," he very nearly pleaded, noticing just how jumpy the both of them were. "Daidouji, you look fine."

She whirled around to face him, the edginess and apprehension more evident on her face than the make-up she wore. "Just fine?" she asked worriedly, stepping back to give him a full view. "We were just about to go up to your floor to get your opinion. Be honest, Li-kun. How do I look?"

Syaoran grimaced. How on earth was he supposed to answer that question? Sakura was standing right _next_ to her. He didn't want to answer _too_ enthusiastically, but if he didn't call her anything short of a goddess, Tomoyo was sure to get upset.

"H-how should I know? I'm no expert with this fashion stuff…"

"Li-kun," she prompted, stomping her foot exasperatedly. The black heel of her stiletto made a distinct "click" noise that echoed around the floor. "We need a man's opinion, and it just so happens, you're the only one here. Just tell me the truth – is it okay?" She twirled slowly and stood stock still to wait for his verdict.

Cautiously with his face still contorted in a very awkward way, he allowed his eyes to sweep over her appearance. Her hair, tied back in a ponytail with a thin, black elastic looked better than it would have on any other girl. She wore a tight fitted purple dress that hugged her figure so ridiculously closely it made avoiding the curve of her hips almost impossible. The two straps that went over her shoulders held the top of her dress just over the valley of her breasts, and the bottom fabric of the dress stopped just an inch or two before the knee.

If Syaoran was being honest with himself, Tomoyo looked radiant – but as a male friend of hers who had thought of her as only the weird girl with the camera for years, he couldn't quite come right out and say so.

"He's taking too long to answer," Tomoyo said to Sakura, the sentence sounding a lot like a whimper. "I look hideous, don't I? Oh no, I have to get changed! He'll be here in less than a half hour! What am I going to do now? Oh, Sakura-chan, this is a _disaster_—!"

"N-no, not at all," he finally stuttered, not knowing how to word the compliment he knew he had to give her, but one she also deserved. "You look… you look…" he shrugged his shoulders and sort of motioned with his hands and face to convey his message: she looked fantastic.

A slow grin appeared on her nicely made-up face. "That's answer enough for me. Thanks a lot, Li-kun!"

He slumped in his seat on the couch, finding he could now breathe easy with the pressure off of him. He looked to his side and saw Sakura giving him a funny stare, her smile suppressing laughter but her eyes spilling it all over the place. She looked pleased that he could praise her best friend's look in such a way, but also amused that he couldn't really put it into words out of nervousness.

Suddenly there was a knock at their door. Two out of the three inhabitants of the penthouse jumped at the sound of it, the two of them being very obvious as to who. Holding his hands out before the two girls, Syaoran signalled for the two girls to remain calm and act natural, both for Tomoyo's sake and his. He simply could not handle anymore girly oozing for the rest of the night.

He looked through the fish hole of the door and saw of course, that it was Eriol. With one more glance over his shoulder, he saw that Tomoyo had quietly run off into the bedroom, probably so she could make some sort of elegant entrance. At Sakura's thumbs-up signal, he rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"Hiiragizawa," Syaoran greeted, "you're early. Twenty minutes early, in fact."

In his hands were two small bouquets of flowers, and in the other was a similarly small, heart-shaped box of what could only be chocolates. He shrugged, "I could hardly wait. Hello, Sakura-san," he said warmly and stepping inside without waiting for Syaoran to invite him. Syaoran rolled his eyes for the hundredth time that day and followed him into the lounge where Sakura stood.

"These are for you," he told her, handing her the bouquet that was made up of cherry blossoms only.

Sakura gave a flattered squeal. "Oh, Eriol-kun, you shouldn't have! Thank you so much, they are beautiful. And you look so handsome!" she complimented, giving his dark suit, similar to the kind that Syaoran wore on a regular basis, an approving once over.

Syaoran folded his arms and leaned against a wall, feeling as though the scowl on his face would eventually become permanent.

Eriol smiled kindly at the praise but soon switched the grin for a smirk. "Anything special planned for you tonight, Syaoran?"

If Sakura wasn't there he probably would have launched a nice, clean hit across Eriol's sneering face. "How about we just focus on your plans for this evening, Hiiragizawa," he grunted.

Eriol began to snicker and tossed him the heart-shaped box of chocolates. "These are for you," he said. "I thought, if I was going to get something nice for Sakura-san, I couldn't leave you out, either."

It hit Syaoran square in the chest and fell into his waiting hands. His scowl deepened but he did not bother to form a retort – Eriol knew just as well as everyone else did that chocolate was his favourite food. Not insulting him in turn would serve as his thanks.

"Is Tomoyo still getting ready? I know I'm a little early, but I was hoping she—"

"Oh, no, I think Tomoyo-chan is nearly ready," Sakura interrupted, practically skipping to their bedroom and knocked on the door. Trying not to sound too forced with the question, Sakura said, "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun decided to come by earlier than planned! Are you all done?"

"Just about!" Tomoyo called in reply. The sound of her stiletto heels clicking across the room was heard on the other side of the door, which opened to reveal her looking somehow more stunning than she had looked just a few moments ago. Syaoran realized that nothing about her was truly different – she just was smiling a lot brighter and seemed to be emanating a glorious aura, since Eriol walked into the suite.

The arm holding the bouquet of violets went limp to his side as he took in the sight of the gorgeous Tomoyo, standing so elegantly in the doorway. "Y-you… your dress, Tomoyo…"

Suddenly she looked worried. "Oh, no – you said I could wear anything. Am I dressed too formally? I can run and get a change of—"

"No, don't get changed," he said quickly, approaching her and handing her the flowers. "You look _lovely_."

They hadn't even stepped out the door and they were _already_ giving each other the "romantic gaze across the dinner table" look. Syaoran found it extremely uncomfortable to be around them, but Sakura could do nothing else but stare between her two friends and clap her hands giddily like a child at an amusement park.

"She looks good, huh?" asked a shrill voice. Kero flew out of the room and floated between them all, looking like a proud designer. "I dressed her myself!"

"Kero-chan," Sakura scolded, "You did not. Tomoyo-chan made that dress."

The Beast of the Seal rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I chose it for her."

Taking in a long breath, Tomoyo pulled on her long black coat with the help of Eriol. Syaoran held the door for them to exit as Sakura followed the couple to wish them a fun time on their date.

"Have a curfew for her?" Eriol joked with both Sakura and Syaoran.

Sakura giggled. "You can have her for the whole evening! Just get her back here safely," she said.

"Yes ma'am," Eriol answered her. "Good night, you two. Goodnight, Keroberos. It was nice to see you again."

The little yellow monster saluted to him. "You too, chief."

Tomoyo gave her best friend a tight squeeze before leaving and touched Syaoran's arm. "Good night, the both of you. Please try to have fun while I'm out."

"Are you kidding, Tomoyo? It's always a party while I'm here!" cried Kero, puffing his chest out in an arrogant manner.

She laughed and corrected herself, "Of course, how stupid of me. Bye, Kero-chan, make sure these two behave themselves."

"You mean make sure _he_ behaves _himself_," Syaoran grumbled, before wishing them both a good night. "See you back here in a few hours," he told Tomoyo, waving goodbye.

Finally the door shut behind the couple and he was able to rest at ease. He had fulfilled his part of the bargain – as soon as Eriol brought Tomoyo back through that door later that night, he would learn whatever it was that he was purposefully keeping from him.

"Well…" he heard Sakura say, "what should we do now?"

Opening his eyes which had been shut closed just a moment before; Syaoran realized with a start that he was still dressed in his plaid green pyjama bottoms and holey grey t-shirt. He then immediately noticed that Sakura was dressed only in a pair of grey boxers and a light pink t-shirt, appearing as though she were about to go to bed.

"U-um," he stammered, walking into the lounge to try and hide his unkempt appearance. "I think I'll go to my—"

Suddenly she was giggling. "Nice outfit," she commented.

He didn't know how to respond. Was she laughing at him or sincerely complimenting his attire?

"I mean it," she said, dispelling the confusion. "Since you came back, I haven't seen you wear anything other than a suit. You look nice."

"U-um…" he said again, feeling like a fine idiot. He stared down into his hands and saw that the box of chocolates was still in his possession. Fumbling with the lid like the moron he felt that he was, he quickly opened it and held the box out to her, staring down at the floor. "D-do you… do you want one?" he offered.

Sakura smiled and peered inside. "Maybe. What kinds are there?"

He shook his head nervously. "I – I don't know."

"I want one!" Kero exclaimed, and Syaoran began to wonder how he could have possibly forgotten that the ever-annoying creature was still in the room with them. He dove into the box, making a mess of the wrappers and leaving hardly any for Syaoran and Sakura to share amongst themselves. "Hey, these are good!"

"Kero-chan!" Sakura reprimanded again, "Those chocolates were Syaoran-kun's!"

He was shaking his head again, "It's okay. Have them," he said to the pest, "just leave me alone for the rest of the night."

Smiling delightedly, Kero took the box from him and flew with it back into the girls' bedroom. "No problem, I wasn't going to talk to you for the rest of the night, anyway!"

The door shut closed with a surprising bang and Sakura cringed at the sound of it, but also because of her faithful friend's behavior. "I'm sorry about him," she apologized, shaking her head.

"It's okay," he told her, "I'm sorry if you wanted to try one."

She laughed. "Oh, it doesn't matter."

A short silence followed, but it was long enough for Syaoran to realize that by ordering Kero to stay away, he had inadvertently sentenced himself to a night alone with Sakura. All he could do now was try to escape to his own floor of the suite to watch that demented documentary on the countryside.

"Well, I guess I'll go up to my—"

"Wait," Sakura said, reaching out with her arm and lightly grazing his wrist.

Syaoran stared down at the part of his hand where he felt her fingers. The hairs in that particular vicinity were inexplicably raised.

"Do you want to watch this documentary of the English countryside with me? I had it on in my bedroom – we could watch it out here?"

Syaoran knew exactly how to reply. He had "business calls" to make and fully intended on watching the documentary in his own room where he would promptly fall asleep, and later wake to await Tomoyo and Eriol's return. But the last part he didn't have to let her know.

"Actually, I—"

"Please?" she asked. "Kero-chan can't keep quiet enough to watch anything, and he'll be hogging the TV in my room, anyway. I'd rather not wait for Tomoyo-chan to get back all by myself. I'd hate to be bored during my first night in England."

She stared at him pleadingly. He opened his mouth to respond, "No… I don't think I should."

But what he heard himself say was, "Sure, why not?" instead.

_**xxxxxx**_

Whatever had compelled Syaoran to accept Sakura's invitation to watch the documentary with her was something he could not bother to dwell on – he had bigger problems to worry about. Somehow he was in the kitchen popping the popcorn they found in the pantry and she was dimming the lights for a better view of the television. How did his happen to him? How could his spine betray him and turn to jelly when he was around her?

"Popcorn's finished," he announced, pouring it into a bowl and handing it to her. With his stomach bloated with butterflies, he didn't find a snack very appetizing at the moment.

"Oh, great!" Sakura said, obviously delighted. She waved him over to the couch in front of the TV in the lounge. Slowly he seated himself at a distance that was far enough to ease his sweating, but close enough to stop her from wondering why there needed to be a space between them in the first place.

"I hope you don't mind," she continued, "but I thought that the countryside might make us fall asleep, so I ordered a movie instead. I found one with Japanese subtitles – is that all right?"

"S-sure," he said, not actually concerned with what they watched. As long as he survived the next few hours with her alone, they could watch a chick flick for all he cared.

But a chick flick it was not, nor was it a cheesy romantic comedy like the ones he usually watched with Sakura, back when they were dating. What she had actually chosen was an action comedy, and in the beginning it seemed like a rather good choice. It looked decent enough of a movie, but what followed after the introductory scenes was not what Syaoran expected.

After a few comments about the movie and what it was about (something about an undercover spy – blah, blah, blah), others soon followed that were not related to the film at all. A scene of a man and his female cousin bickering prompted Sakura to ask about Meiling's well-being – and then in return, Syaoran asked about Sakura's older brother, Touya. One thing led to another and, somehow, without either of them noticing it, they were having a full blown discussion about their lives and what had happened to them after a nine year separation.

They talked about work and the traveling Syaoran had done over the last few ears. Sakura listened with an attentive ear as he described all the places he'd been to and was only too eager to spur the conversation along with her insightful questions. He would give her little anecdotes about his voyages, and she would tell him her own yarns about the people she'd encountered working at the gift store and hostessing at the restaurant.

Eventually they came upon the topic of Sakura's father, Fujitaka. Syaoran was extremely distraught to learn of his death some time ago. He was ill at the time of his departure, but apparently the sickness slowly worsened, a short time after he left. Whatever it was that ailed him, Syaoran did not bother to ask, for fear of upsetting Sakura. He had already felt like an ass for bringing up the well-being of her father, anyway. He should have known better, or at least asked Tomoyo about it first.

To sympathize and help her feel that she could confide in him because he knew what she was going through, Syaoran admitted the passing of his faithful butler, Wei. It happened earlier, before Sakura's father's death, and was one of the reasons why Syaoran could pay off the debts he had to his education. Wei had made Syaoran the inheritor of all his belongings – which were not much, but he had enough money to get Syaoran out of the financial hole he was in.

"I'm so sorry," Sakura said sadly after learning of his loss. "He was a good man."

"So was your father," he told her, then began to think of ways to comfort her. She was obviously troubled, and he had certainly never intended to make her cry. "Anyway, it's all right. He passed peacefully. And he knew how much we all cared for him."

She smiled, wiping away a stray tear that escaped the corner of her lower eyelid. "I'm glad to hear that, at least."

How had they gotten here? How could he allow their conversation to get so… so personal? And so intimate? It was the last thing he wanted, and yet somehow it came to pass.

He was thankful, at least, that it was just a tear that rolled down her cheek, not a flood. She hadn't even really teared up when she mentioned her father – only when he mentioned Wei. So, perhaps, it was safe to give his belated condolences.

"Sakura, I'm sorry about your otou-san. I never should've brought him up. I should've realized that he had—"

She shook her head, smiling. "It's all right. I'm glad you asked. It's good to talk about him sometimes."

"You…" he began, only now noticing that the space he created between them on the couch was almost nothing at all, "you're being very strong about it."

She laughed, despite herself. "Oh, I have to be. You should have seen me when it happened. I was a wreck. If it weren't for Tomoyo-chan, I might have become a recluse!"

He shook his head. Thank God for Tomoyo… he could only imagine what Sakura had gone through. He was glad that she at least had a friend to help her through her tough times.

"Kaito-kun also helped," she said, sounding grateful. "I met him right around that time. We were just acquaintances, then. And he was such a good friend to me."

Syaoran's heart clenched. "Oh," he said tersely. "I… I'm glad you had them both."

"Me too," she answered with a wider smile.

A calm stillness floated between them, giving Syaoran the time to debate over whether or not he should say what he wanted – and, before he could even tell himself that he need not bother with it, it had already escaped his betraying mouth.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

Sakura's eyes grew dim in confusion. "For what, Syaoran-kun?"

_For a million and one things_, he thought to himself. He then closed his eyes and put his hand to his forehead, replying, "For not being there. I should have been."

Sakura shifted positions on the couch to face him better. She removed his hand from over his forehead and peered up at him reassuringly. "Syaoran-kun, don't bother yourself with this. It's all right."

"No, it's not," he disagreed, clearly upset with himself. "I should have been there."

Sakura bit her lip. If she was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she was thinking those exact same words, those few years ago when her father passed away. She had been so angry and so accusing of him for not being with her when she needed him the most. Even though at the time of his passing she had more or less moved on from him, she just couldn't help but long for his arms around her and his voice in her ear, telling her everything was going to be okay.

"Syaoran-kun… it's in the past now. I don't want you feeling guilty over this. Really, I'm at peace with my otou-san's death. So… you should be, too."

"How could I…" he breathed, feeling himself lose control of his senses as he looked deeper and deeper into Sakura's emerald pools, "How could I ever make it up to you?"

The thoughtful look on her face just made him want to lean in and kiss her – but his body, unlike his mouth that night, did not betray him.

"Well, you can microwave a new bag of popcorn for starters," she joked, attempting to make light of the suddenly serious mood.

Syaoran shook his head and chuckled, grabbing the bowl on the low table before them and standing up. "Sure, but maybe we should pause the mo—"

He faltered on his way to the kitchen, realizing that the movie wasn't even playing.

"D-did the… did the movie end?" he asked, confusion and surprise colouring his nervous voice.

Sakura's head turned to the TV and her eyes grew wide. Apparently, she hadn't noticed either. "I – I guess it did. But… maybe something went wrong with the movie. It can't _really_ be over, that movie was a full two hours long…"

Syaoran's jaw dropped. "Two hours?"

She nodded, joining him in the kitchen. "I picked it over all the other subtitled movies because it was so long. I thought it would keep us up while we waited for Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun. I guess it really did end, though… the return option to go back to the list of movies is on the screen."

"God…" Syaoran breathed, shaking his head in disbelief. "And how – how long were we talking for?"

Sakura checked the clock hanging on the wall. If she was doing her math correctly, then, "Three hours," she determined, sounding just as shocked as Syaoran. "We were talking for an hour after the movie ended. Unless, of course, my math is wrong, and you know how bad it can be," she added.

Syaoran felt insulted on her behalf. He knew math had always been one of her weaker points, but he told her, "No, you're right," he said, quickly doing the simple math for himself. "And you shouldn't doubt yourself. Keroberos told me your math improved a lot after I left."

She smiled wide, flattered. "He did? Well… I guess it did," she said as modestly as she could while also telling the truth.

He returned her smile and leaned across the kitchen island. After a moment she followed suit and rested her arms over the clean island top and stared once more up into his penetrating amber eyes.

Perhaps Syaoran was just imagining things, but it certainly felt as though Eriol and Tomoyo were not the only two on a date this evening. And, if he was still any good at reading Sakura's thoughts the way he used to be back in the day, then he could safely say that he was certainly not alone in feeling that way.

"I—" Sakura started, backing away from the island. Syaoran recoiled as well. They had gotten far too comfortable with each other – they were both acting as though they were just on one of their "staying-in" type of dates, the kind they used to have frequently when they were still together. "I think I'm going to… um, check up on Kero-chan. Make sure he hasn't… you know, overdosed on sweets again."

Syaoran cleared his throat, "R-right," he said. "Good idea. I'll… I'll just go… do…"

There was no point in trying to finish his sentence. Sakura had already disappeared into her room, without letting him come to a stuttering stop. He felt like ripping his hair out. They had been having such a good time – how could it end so abruptly like that? But he sighed, knowing that it was best that their fun time together ended on such a note. What they were doing wasn't fair to either of them – nor was it to Kaito, he reminded himself grudgingly.

He was sitting in the lounge of his own floor of the penthouse by himself for a long time when he heard the elevator churning. He sat straighter on the sofa, thinking perhaps it was Sakura to pay him a visit, but found that it was Eriol instead. He stepped forward looking very pleased with himself, his nice suit still not having a single wrinkle in it.

Syaoran checked the clock on the wall. It was almost eleven o'clock at night.

"How was it?" he asked, just so that they might get to the other, far more important thing that he really wanted to discuss.

"It went perfectly," he said, "I took her to this great restaurant that I knew she'd like, and we—"

"Hiiragizawa," Syaoran cut in sharply. He gave him a look that pretty much told him he did not care for any of the details.

"All right – touchy, touchy," Eriol said, affronted by his attitude. "Is someone a little grouchy because they didn't do as I suggested to spend time with Sakura-san?"

How wrong he actually was. "Never mind that right now, all right, Hiiragizawa? Tell me what it is you learned from Clow and then I can go to sleep and put an end to this miserable day."

"Oh, no, I have no intention of telling you what it is right now," Eriol informed him, already walking back to the elevator. "If I tell you about it right now, you'll never be able to go to sleep tonight. If you don't want to talk about how my date went, I'll just say goodbye to the girls and thank Tomoyo for letting me come up and see you. I don't think I'll kiss her good night, though; I want to be a gentleman. Maybe on our third date…"

"Hiiragizawa!" Syaoran hissed, "You said you'd tell me if I got Daidouji out on a date with you, and I have. You tell me right now, or—"

"I'll be around tomorrow morning," he interjected, still sounding as cheerful as ever. "I'll tell you then. I promise. Night, Syaoran."

"Hiiragizawa—!" Whatever insult he had to hurl at him never made it to its target. He sighed, plodded to his bedroom and cut the lights. He fell onto his mattress and tried to fight the coming headache. If he was lucky, sleep would claim him soon, and he could pretend that this whole, sorry evening ever occurred.

After a few moments, he felt his eyelids growing heavy. The light of the moon seeping through the small space between his curtains slowly faded to black as the shadowy figures of the furnishings in the room also blended into the darkness. The dreamy state he was embarking upon soon took him completely as a strange, black wisp, similar to a ribbon, wrapped itself around his arm…

_**xxx**_.

**Author Notes:** Dun dun dun! Was that ending scary? I sure felt scared writing it, hehe.

For the hundredth time, I am so, very sorry for making some of you wait for an update! I have literally just finished the summer semester at school and I work almost every day. Also the weather has been _insanely_ hot lately, and motivation in that kind of weather is ridiculously hard to find.

But enough with my excuses! And more of my begging ;). I joke, I joke! As per usual, I would just like to politely ask all of you to take the time to leave me a review, if you happened to read just a little bit of the chapter.

Also, thank you to all those who have been reading thus far, and thank you as well to those who have left me a few words in a review. You guys are the "wonder" in wonderful!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	9. Temporary Madness

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter nine!

**Casting Shadows**

_Temporary Madness_

Syaoran sat up straight in his bed. The night that covered him was no longer present; the morning light took its place in his suddenly stuffy room. Breathing hard, he attempted to recover from his dream, which was not of Sakura, as it usually was. What he had seen instead was darkness and a shadowy figure beckoning to him. He had not had that vision, nor had he woken up with a fresh bruise like the one that was currently on his arm, in a very long time.

What did occur in that dream however, unlike the previous ones he had of it, was a voice that summoned him in his sleep. It was a deep, hollow tone that called out, "Clow," as the un-interpretable dream faded to an end.

He leapt out of bed and threw open his door to breathe easier and escape the suffocation of his room. He looked down at his left arm once more and put the fingers of his right hand over the new bruise. He winced, realizing that this new addition to the dark patches on his arm was far worse than all the others he'd received.

Immediately he approached the elevator to show the girls. He did not want to alarm them, but if this wasn't a sign that they weren't taking this trip seriously enough, he didn't know what was.

When the elevator doors opened, he was surprised to see the girls were already up, sitting in the lounge. Sakura was sitting on the couch, her head down while Tomoyo applied some sort of ointment on her. Kero was floating some ways a way, poised in his usual sitting position with a serious thinking face about his visage.

"Ohayo, Daidouji, Sakura… what's going—?"

"Oh, Li-kun!" Tomoyo cried, getting up from her seat and rushing to him. "Look at what happened to Sakura-chan last night! Look, it's awful, just awful!"

A worried look crumpling his forehead and filling his eyes, he immediately joined Sakura on the couch, still dressed in the shorts and t-shirt she was wearing the night before. Her auburn hair was in a delightful mess and her cheeks were their usual shade of porcelain white. But there was no time to fawn over her early morning appearance. It looked as though he was not the only one to be paid a visit by the shadowy figure last night.

Hiding his own bruised arm behind his back, he took her hand and asked, "Are you okay?" unable to disguise the concern in his voice.

She looked up at him, embarrassed. "H-hoe, I'm fine… it's just a little bruise."

Suddenly he felt angry. Whatever it was that was following him around had now gotten hold of Sakura and was hurting her as well – and this was most definitely not okay with him.

He noticed the white ointment on her arm was not yet fully spread over the bruised flesh. Deciding to finish Tomoyo's job for her, he slowly placed two fingers over the cream, putting as much pressure on the blackened area as he could without hurting her.

"Ouch," she breathed involuntarily, wincing.

Syaoran felt as though he ought to remove his fingers for fear of hurting her even more, but he kept them on her arm, easing off a little, but beginning to spread the lotion slowly. "How does that feel?" he asked, referring to the pain and the feel of the adjusted weight on her arm.

"F-fine…" she breathed, "th-thank you."

He was far too worried to muster a smile. He instead met her gaze with a hard stare. Slowly he attempted to probe her eyes to detect any pain she might have been hiding. She looked embarrassed that her friends were making a fuss more than she looked hurt, and she _had_ suffered worse than a bruise to the arm back in their days as card captors. Still, he was an "old habit die hard", and could not help but to feel troubled over her.

He felt another pair of eyes on him and he turned to see Tomoyo giving him a knowing stare. Clearing his throat he released her arm and stood by Kero, who was oblivious to the situation before him, too lost in his thoughts to notice anything else.

"Keroberos, have you been able to think of anything?" he asked, referring to his knowledge of magic and what could possibly be causing them harm.

The yellow beast shook his head, discouraged. "Nothing," he answered.

He turned to Sakura this time, trying to appear as professional as he could, "Sakura, did it come to you in your dreams? Or did you just wake up with that on your arm?"

She chewed her bottom lip as she tried to recall what she saw the previous night. "I… I'm not sure; all I know was that I saw... a man. It was all… darkness… it was so _dark_… and… and there was a…"

"A voice?" he pressed. "A voice that was calling for Clow?"

She gazed up at him from her seat on the couch and showed her confusion. "How did you know that?"

He sighed, reluctantly revealing the arm he was holding behind his back. "Because… I heard it, too."

Sakura and Tomoyo gasped while the frustrated crease in Kero's forehead deepened. Sakura leapt to her feet and took his arm into her hands, making sure not to touch the new bruise or any of the others that were almost healed. "Oh, Syaoran-kun – are you all right?"

"Fine," he said, not wanting her to worry, but still glad that she could show such concern for him. "Like you said… it's just a little bruise."

He turned swiftly to escape the anxious looks he was receiving and went to the phone sitting on one of the small tables near the door. Before dialling for the concierge, he spoke seriously to the two girls, saying, "There is no time to keep on acting like we have time to spare on this issue. It's time we start taking it seriously."

The three of them nodded austerely. "You're right, Syaoran-kun. We're sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said, not wanting them to feel bad, especially not Tomoyo who really did deserve the date that she went on the previous night, "the sooner we figure this out, the sooner you all can continue on with the vacation you wanted to have."

Soon the dial tone was ringing and an elegant voice answered on the other end. "Good morning, this is concierge at the Yoshida Tower. How can I help you?"

Syaoran quickly ordered a big breakfast for all of them, thinking it best that they remain in their suite for the remainder of the day, to work with Eriol and perhaps do some research. Before he hung up to give his annoying friend a call, the concierge stopped him to connect him with the front desk, which apparently had to relay a number of messages that had been left for them.

"We're sorry for the delayed message, but no one from your party checked with the front desk. Yoshida-san has been calling for Kinomoto-san since yesterday evening. He's been leaving more of them all night – he says to tell Kinomoto-san to check her phone."

Hardening his jaw, he answered, "All right. Thank you," and slammed the phone down against the receiver.

The girls looked at him in wonder. "Is everything okay, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

He nodded briefly. "Fine. I was just having breakfast sent up here."

"Good idea," Kero commented, floating inside the bedroom to wait for it. "I'm starving. I can't possibly think anymore without a full stomach."

Tomoyo followed him back inside and sighed, "And I have got to get myself into the shower. The day has barely even begun and I'm _already_ feeling stressed out."

"I think I'll have a shower, too," Sakura announced. "But I'll wait for this ointment to work on the bruise."

She yawned and stretched, stepping inside the kitchen and beginning to pick out some oranges from a fruit basket to squeeze into juice. She held one out to Syaoran who was standing alone in the lounge and said, "Want to help?"

He shrugged, thinking that a phone call to Eriol could wait, especially since he'd already promised to come by in the morning time, so there wasn't any real need to call. And anyway, some fresh squeezed orange juice seemed like a great idea. Perhaps it would help make this morning better, if only by a little bit.

"Did you want some of the ointment, Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked, when she was joined by him in the kitchen as they washed their hands. She made sure not to let the water interfere with the healing bruise. "It doesn't really do much; it just helps with the appearance and the pain."

He shook his head. "No, thanks," he answered, and gave his attention to an orange. Squeezing it tightly so that a flood of juice seeped from it, he then told her, "Oh, and… check your phone. The front desk says your fiancé has been trying to reach you."

Slowly her eyes widened as the panic took over her face. "Kero-chan!" she screeched. "Bring my cell phone in here, would you, please?"

A second later the bedroom door opened and Kero zoomed out, Sakura's light pink phone between his teeth. He dropped it into her hands and flew back into the room without another word.

She gave a rushed thank you and flipped it open, the panic in her eyes now joined by dread and alarm. "Oh no," she moaned, "I have… ten calls and… eleven text messages. All from Kaito-kun!"

Syaoran didn't respond – after all, how could he? What on earth could he have possibly said to that? "Oh, you better call him back"? He could have very well added, "And don't worry, you can forget about me" while he was at it.

It turned out that he didn't need to encourage her to return his calls. In the next second she was hitting the speed dial button with unnecessary force, holding the phone next to her ear and biting her nails. When finally someone answered on the other end, Sakura began to pace nervously, completely unaware of Syaoran's eavesdropping.

"Kaito-kun, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to—"

She was quiet for a while and Syaoran could make out only a few words as he responded.

"I know," she moaned, shaking her head. "I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't even think about how worried you would be. I'm all right, the flight was fine, and we're all safe… please don't worry."

Remembering that she was not alone in the kitchen, she turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of Syaoran through the corner of her eye. When she realized his hands were poised over another orange, watching her carefully as she continued with the conversation, she stepped back into the lounge and decided to lower her voice.

"Kaito-kun?" she asked quietly, "Are you still there? Please don't be mad…"

She could practically see him shaking his head at her, thousands of miles away. "Of course I'm not mad, Sakura. You just worried me. I… I don't want to be the overprotective type, but I just had to call and see whether or not you'd checked in. The people at the front desk told me you had but you didn't call me."

"It just slipped my mind, Kaito-kun. I don't know what came over me, I just…"

"I hope I didn't go overboard with the messages and calls," he added hurriedly, "I honestly didn't want to seem clingy. I nearly sent someone over to your suite to _make_ you call me back, but I knew it was better not to…" he was chuckling despite himself, embarrassed at how desperate he had become just to hear from her.

"You should have," she said, also laughing, "I wouldn't have minded at all, Kaito-kun. I should have called you right away when I landed, like I said I would. It's my fault for being so forgetful."

He sighed. "No, it's not, Sakura. I just miss you so much already, and this feels weird. Usually it's me that's away, not you. You've never even left the country since we've been dating. I'm sorry for freaking out. I know you're fine and that Daidouji-san is taking care of you – and Li-kun as well."

Her heart sunk a few inches with the weight of her guilt. There she had been, in that very same lounge last night with Syaoran, having a good time, and not even thinking about her fiancé. What a terrible person she had been lately… how could she do this to Kaito, a man who was nothing but amazing to her?

"Sakura?" he asked, "Are you still there, sweetheart?"

"H-hoe? I mean – y-yes," she stammered, clearing her throat and shaking her head slightly. "I'm still here. S-sorry, I… our breakfast will be here soon. We… um… have lots to do today."

"Of course," he said, but sounded very unwilling to hang up the phone. "I'll let you get back to it. I'll talk to you later?"

"Definitely," she said, not sure of the word even as it escaped her lying mouth, "I'm sorry again."

"Don't apologize," he told her, "it's all right. Just… please take care over there." The way he said it, it seemed as though he could read her mind and somehow knew of what happened last night with herself and Syaoran.

"I will," she promised, "Bye, Kaito-kun."

"I love you," he said. He waited for a response before hanging up.

"I…" she exhaled, wondering why, suddenly, it was hard for her to get the words out of her mouth when before it had been so easy, like second nature to her. "I love you, too."

She took the phone away from her ear and shut it with a light snap, the noise echoing in the very quiet space. She then remembered once more that Syaoran had still been just a few steps away in the kitchen, and turned to see if he had by any chance caught the last few words she'd said to her fiancé.

He was staring down at a poor orange that looked simply massacred in his hand. The juice had never even made it into the pitcher.

"H-he was just worried about me," she explained.

"Of course," he answered. He dropped the orange onto the table and washed off his hands. "I'm going to have a shower and get changed on the other floor."

"S-sure…" she said, watching him go quickly to the elevator. "Me too. Listen; Tomoyo-chan's not done with the shower in our bedroom yet, and I don't want to wait, so I'll be using the shower in the restroom. So don't use the restroom on this floor, okay?"

He nodded and ascended onto the top floor, where he proceeded to topple a nearby chair out of jealousy, and then slam the room of his bedroom door shut. Oh, the perks of having an entire floor of a penthouse suite to one's self.

He started his shower and threw off his clothes, hastily rubbing a bar of soap over him and shampooing his hair. It only took him five minutes to get clean and dried off. Staring at his closet he looked between the fresh, pressed black suit he often wore, and the dark, black jeans that he hardly ever wore. He sighed and admitted to himself that it just didn't feel like a "suit" kind of day.

He eventually plucked out the jeans from the closet and selected a forest green long sleeve button-up shirt to go with it. Leaving the first few buttons undone and the collar folded, he rolled up the sleeves before roughly dragging a hand through his thick, brown hair. With one, brief glance in the full length mirror hanging in his room, he exited and decided to join the girls for breakfast on the first floor.

He realized too late that he had to use the bathroom. With the elevator already on its way down, he decided that the girls wouldn't have a problem in letting him use the one in their bedroom, as long as Tomoyo had finished her shower.

As he disembarked from the elevator, he noticed that Tomoyo had indeed finished, as she was sitting with Eriol, laughing and talking at the dining table on the other side of the lounge. Her hair still wet from her shower but dry enough, Tomoyo turned her head to smile apologetically at him. The breakfast had been delivered in record time, and they had already started without him.

"Ohayo, Syaoran," Eriol greeted. Syaoran nodded, walking past them to go to their girls' bedroom.

"Ohayo. We have a lot to talk about this morning," he said, referring to the secret he was supposed to have been told about last night, and added, "did Daidouji tell you about what happened to me and Sakura last night?"

She nodded, "I did. And look what happened to _him_ last night," said Tomoyo, reaching for Eriol's arm and holding it up for Syaoran to see. He stopped in his tracks and stared, clearly upset over discovering that he and Sakura were not alone in receiving bruises the previous night.

"You too?" he asked.

Eriol shrugged. "Tomoyo told me what both of your dreams were like, and mine was the same. I heard the voice calling for Clow as well. But… we should eat first. This can wait for after breakfast."

He couldn't agree more. He underestimated just how much he had to use the bathroom. Leaving the conversation for later like Eriol suggested, he picked up his pace and announced, "Daidouji, I'm going to use your bathroom, all right?"

"Sure," she said, stretching her neck out to watch him as he went on his way, "but maybe you should use the other restroom. You wouldn't want to—"

"No, thanks," he interrupted, entering their bedroom and calling out, "the one in your room is fine. Anyway, Sakura told me not to use that one. She doesn't have to hurry with her shower."

"That's the thing, Li-kun," said Tomoyo, "Sakura's taking a shower in th—"

Nature wouldn't allow him to wait for her to finish her sentence. He entered the bedroom and approached their bathroom door. On the other side, he heard obnoxiously loud singing, which was weird because he could have sworn that he thought he saw Kero sitting on the table between Eriol and Tomoyo, eating breakfast silently. Shaking his head, he pushed open the door, fully intending to scold him anyway to shut up before he shattered any glass and he had to end up paying for it.

"Do you mind? I have to use the…"

With her back to him, Sakura turned around as she towel dried her hair, lowering her voice to a hum as she continued to sing. "Hoe?" she asked, at the sound of the door opening.

Syaoran froze instantly, the grip he had on the door knob growing limp. Standing before him was a scantily clad Sakura, with a small towel around her acting as the only thing keeping him from seeing the whole birthday suit. One false move upwards would give him a dangerously close view to her private part down under, and the slip of her hand around the towel would give him a further accidental view to her breasts.

The momentary pause in which he did nothing but stare lasted only a millisecond. In the next instant, they were both screaming and his eyes were squeezed shut, groping suddenly for one of those complimentary bath robes they offered in penthouse suite bathrooms.

"What are you _doing in here_?" she shrieked, stumbling backwards, startled, and slipping on the tiles. She grabbed hold of the shower curtain to keep from falling over and lost grip over her towel. It slid off of her as if having a mind of its own, and wanting to embarrass the both of them even further.

"_Keep your eyes closed_!" she screeched, quickly grabbing the towel and attempting to wrap it around her once more, but found difficulty in doing so with shaky hands.

"They're closed – they're closed!" Syaoran screamed back, not in anger but in panic as he gave up in trying to find a robe to cover her with and tried to back out of the room. To make matters worse, he staggered over his feet in his hurry, landing on his butt and now out of reach of the door. He had no choice but to return to groping as he tried to find the exit with his eyes still tightly closed.

"Get out!" she shrieked in a blind panic, though she was finally successful in securing the towel around her for a second time.

"I'm trying!" he answered, toppling over a few bottles that were on a side table. "Can you tell me where the door is?" he asked, as his hand closed around a strange article of clothing, instead of the door knob. Rubbing his fingers into the soft garment that had somehow found its way into his hand, he realized with another involuntarily yelp that it was a bra he was holding and hastily flung it aside.

"Walk to the left, Syaoran-kun. To the left – the left, I said!"

"I am walking to my left!"

"Not your left, my left!"

He groaned in frustration, remembering that he was still facing her, and switched directions, promptly walking straight into the door.

Sakura's hands flew to her mouth as she flinched at the noise that was made when his forehead made contact with the hard wood.

They were quiet for a moment. Finally Syaoran said, "I found the door."

She waited for him to leave, which he did almost immediately after stating the obvious. It was only until he shut the door firmly behind his back and heard a sharp lock turning on the other side did he allow himself to open his eyes. Not that shutting them had helped in the slightest. He knew that for a long time, the only thing that would be on his mind was Sakura's almost-naked body.

Slowly he exited the girls' bedroom to face his doom – his doom, being the laughing faces of Kero, Eriol, and Tomoyo, of course. As he closed the other door to their bedroom behind him, he walked to the three of them, still sitting at the dining table. They were not laughing at him, but giving him derisive stares that were mixed with pending torment and teasing, which, in his mind, was far worse.

"She… she told me she was going to use the other shower," he explained without waiting to be asked.

"She was – until I finished in our bathroom," Tomoyo continued for him, the laughter hiding in her wicked, mocking voice, "then she decided to use it after me, after all."

He opened his mouth repeatedly but could not find anything to say. "I-I guess she forgot to lock the door..."

Tomoyo and Eriol continued to look at him in that terribly annoying way. It angered him more than words could describe, how they could make him feel so embarrassed without having to say anything at all.

To stabilize his rising temper, he looked for Kero on the table and soon found him right where he thought he had seen him earlier, with a napkin wrapped around his neck. Silently he reprimanded himself for not realizing that it was Sakura in there.

"Relax," said Kero with a stuffed mouth, "I'm eating – and to me, that's more important than making fun of you. You've been spared, kid."

He remained silent, grateful that at least one of them wasn't going to make him a laughing stock for the next hour. Just as he was about to turn, he heard Tomoyo gasp.

"Good heavens, Li-kun. You look like a tomato… you're bleeding!"

He put two fingers to his face and retracted them after feeling a thick, warm liquid trailing from his nose. He stared at the blood on his hand and quickly went to the other bathroom on their floor to hide in his shame – and also to pee, which was the original plan before everything got so complicated and… awkward.

"D-don't mind me – this is – er, simply because of the – um, dry, cold weather we've been having. I'm not accustomed to it. E-excuse me – I'll just clean myself up…"

Tomoyo watched him go worriedly, now feeling guilty over teasing him in such a way. But it appeared that Eriol felt no differently towards the situation – in fact, he found it all the more funny since he spotted the trickle of blood.

"Eriol, how can you laugh? Li-kun is has a nosebleed."

Finally he allowed the laughter to spill freely from his lips, patting his knee as Syaoran vanished inside the bathroom. "That's why it is so hilarious, my sweet Tomoyo."

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran cleaned up the mess around his nose before relieving himself. Thankfully the bleeding didn't go on for much longer and stopped after just a minute or two. Washing his face of the stains it left behind, he then dried his cheeks and stared at his reflection in the mirror, wondering if he looked as moronic as he felt.

He stepped out of the bathroom whilst shaking his head. What else could possibly happen on this day? He was already well on his way to becoming half mad – in the crazy, sense, because there was no use in getting angry over it, especially when there wouldn't be anyone siding with him.

Approaching the dining table to have his own share of breakfast (if Kero had been gracious enough to leave some behind for others), he noticed that Sakura had joined as well, sitting with her ankles crossed beneath her chair. Although she was no longer insufficiently dressed the way she was in the bathroom, the loose flowing, floral pink, short skirt she was wearing with a tucked in, sleeveless white blouse did not bereave him of the towel-only image of her in his mind.

Suddenly the whole table went silent as he pulled up a chair beside Eriol, and across from her. He felt the heat return to his face and prayed that the nosebleed would not recur.

"S-sorry," he said, his eyes cast down and not having to explain what he was apologizing for. "I should have knocked."

She shook her head, her own cheeks flaming pink. "I-it's okay. I shouldn't have unlocked the door until I was dressed. I-it's my fault – really…"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. It was always a battle of attrition between these two, over who could apologize or assure the other the most.

To break the tension she held the pot of coffee over to Syaoran's mug and asked, "Milk or sugar with your coffee, Li-kun?"

Finally lifting his gaze from the tabletop he shook his head. "I'll take it black. No sugar, thanks."

Chatter resumed over breakfast as Syaoran and Sakura ate their fill and as Eriol filled Kero in on how Spinel was doing with Ruby, away on whatever business it was that they had in France. Sakura ate slowly, talking every now and then to contribute to the conversation, while Syaoran ate in a hurry, not contributing anything unless he was spoken to. He just wanted to get down to business – they had put it off for long enough.

After they had all finished and the mess was cleaned my the room service Syaoran ordered once more, he impatiently called for Kero to come out of hiding from the girls' bedroom and assembled them all in the lounge, where they all took seats except for him.

"Okay, I think it's about time we get cracking on this… spirit issue, or whatever it is."

"I couldn't agree more," Eriol concurred, standing and joining him to stand before the girls. "Clearly, the spirit – or whatever it is – wants something with Clow, and it is contacting us because of our connections to him. Me, being his reincarnation of course, Sakura-san, being his magical successor, and—"

"And me, because?" Syaoran interrupted, confused. "I'm just a distant descendant of Clow's. My magic doesn't even originate from his, like Sakura's does. I almost have nothing to do with him."

"Distant – but a _direct_ descendant, Syaoran," Eriol corrected, going to the briefcase which he had brought along with him and opening it up. He turned to the girls and explained, "After this past month of feeling the strange presence, I decided that examining Clow's memories would be a good way to start with the source of the sensation." He pulled out two thick, but frail, delicate looking pelt-covered books that were in sealed plastic bags. "I also found a couple of journals that Clow kept, before he died. I thought maybe these would help us in figuring out our little problem."

Syaoran took his shoulder irritably, "Hiiragizawa, that still doesn't explain why this involves me. That spirit was calling for Clow, and I have no ties with him, other than the fact that he's one of my ancestors."

Hesitatantly, Eriol said in a low voice, "That's the thing, Syaoran… after analyzing the memories he left with me – the ones I didn't bother recalling, because I only ever referred to them when we were children, making Sakura-san transform the cards into her own – I realized…"

The girls were sitting on the edge of their seats, as was Syaoran who had backed into a chair, intimidated by the tone in his voice. "What did you realize?" they all asked.

"You're his heir, Syaoran."

Kero's tiny, black eyes became gaping holes. "_What_?"

"B-but… but how can that be?" Sakura asked aloud, astonished just like everyone else, by the shocking revelation.

"It _can't_ be," Syaoran answered for her, standing once more and bearing down upon Eriol, just in case this was some sort of practical joke. "I can't be his heir – if that were true, the cards would've gone to me. Keroberos would've chosen me as his candidate and – and…"

"Clow had foreseen Sakura-san as the mistress of the Clow Cards long before his death," explained Eriol, attempting to spread an atmosphere of calm about the room with his level voice, "the cards would have gone to her no matter what. He did the same with you, Syaoran. The part of him that runs in your veins, no matter how small, was enough to have him choose you as his ancestral heir, the one to carry his legacy and Chinese heritage to the new generation. "

This was too much for him to digest. He was the heir to one of the most powerful magicians that ever lived? What else would he learn – that the moon was truly made out of cheese?

"So…" Kero said, his forehead creased in such a way it made his face look like a half-inflated yellow ball, "that's why it's been contacting him, as well? Because it's trying to get a hold of Clow and you three are the ones it feels pulled to because of your strong connections to him?"

"I would assume that's why," said Eriol.

Soon they all fell into silence to ponder over the things they were just told. Quietly Eriol sat down and further added, "I know it might be hard for you all to believe – but it's true. Clow's memories are not wrong."

"Of course," Tomoyo replied, "of course they're not wrong. Listen – Li-kun, this is _good_. Well – I don't know if it's good, but it's not necessarily _bad_. Let's not all get our knickers in a twist, as the British would say! Let's just stay focused, and… and just…"

"Begin our research?" Eriol suggested, taking the plastic bag with the two journals and unzipping them. "We can discuss this matter later – there is nothing we can change about Clow's decision in making you his heir. What we _can_ do is resolve the matter of that spirit trying to communicate with Clow. We have to find out who it is and how we can make them stop."

"R-right," Sakura agreed, carefully taking one of the thick, dark brown journals into her hands and placing it cautiously on the table. "Eriol-kun and Tomoyo-chan are right. We shouldn't dwell on this – at least, not right now. Why don't you two read through one, and Kero-chan and I will look through the other?"

"And what will I do?" Syaoran finally said, after taking a few moments of silence to contemplate the new discovery. Despite the depth of his thought, he didn't fail to notice Sakura's suggestion to look over the journal with Kero, instead of with him.

"U-um," she started, staring between him and Kero. "Y-you could… um… you could…"

"Forget it," he grumbled, stalking to the elevator and waiting impatiently for the doors to part. "I have to make a call – could you four make do without me for a little while?"

Concerned, Sakura tried to correct herself by saying, "Syaoran-kun, we really could use your help, it's just..."

"I know. And I will help," he assured them, "I just have to do something."

They watched him go with troubled eyes as he left them to be isolated on his own floor.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Are you _sure_?" Meiling asked over the phone as Syaoran marched across the upper lounge. "You're absolutely, positively sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Syaoran told her for the millionth time, and repeated Eriol's words, "Clow's memories are not wrong."

He could hear her expelling a long breath, probably with one hand to her cheek, shaking her head. "Oh my gosh, Syaoran. Clow Reed's heir? His _heir_? I can't believe this!"

"Neither can I," he mumbled in response.

"Do you… do you think the clan knows?" she asked in a hushed tone.

He thought for a moment but soon answered, "No, I don't think they do. Hiiragizawa didn't even know about it up until this past month – how could they know it before him?"

"Could you imagine if they _did_ know?" she rambled on, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. "Boy, you could stick it to them good. You could put them in their place, Syaoran! You can say, 'you expelled the heir of Clow Reed from the Li family, go suck a—'"

"_No_, Meiling," he interjected. "They can't know."

"Wh-what?" she asked, sounding positively devastated, "And why the heck not?"

"This has to stay a secret. If they found out… they might try to rope me in again. They'd use me, like they did before."

"Oh…" she breathed. "I – I'm sorry, Syaoran, I never thought about it like that."

He sighed and dragged his large hand over his face, to possibly rid himself of all the stress and worry wrinkles that were creasing it.

"Listen, I just wanted to let you know what I learned. I should get back to them… make sure you don't tell a _soul_, Meiling."

"Of course," she answered, all too eager to let him go so that he could go back to Sakura. "I'll talk to you later. Make sure you update me with everything else – and good luck."

"Bye," he told her, shutting his phone shut but not returning to his friends downstairs, like he said he would. Instead he remained in his empty lounge, staring out the window over the busy London street. It was still raining, but not as heavy as it had been the day before. It looked like good enough weather to go out for a drive… perhaps he would. His head was swimming in things he had no control over and a drive would help to settle the pain.

But to get down to the lobby would mean his passing through the lower floor of the suite, and the group studying Clow's journals would definitely wonder where he was running off to. There was no point in even trying. It was better that he stay and help them find the source of the spirit, anyway. He couldn't let them do all the work.

But still, he couldn't quite deem himself ready to re-join them. To complement Sakura's phone conversation with Kaito that he overheard and the incident in the girls' bathroom, finding out he was heir to a powerful magician was doing nothing to help the storm raging through his mind.

He heard the elevator ascending in the shaft and had a half a mind to bolt to his bedroom, where he'd feign busy-ness over the phone. Instead he remained in the living room, fighting the urge to hide. There really was no reason for him to do so – unless the person to exit the elevator was Sakura.

To his relief, it was Tomoyo that stepped out instead of the other, but he still was not very comforted. What did she have to say to him now?

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he lied.

"Okay… well. Why don't you come down and join us? It turns out we need your help, after all."

"Sure. I was just about to," he lied again, not fast enough in finding an excuse to not accompany her and following her into the elevator. Anyway, he was curious as to what she meant when she said they needed his help, after all.

When they came back down, he found Sakura sitting on the floor, bent over the journal on the low table, glaring at the words before her. Eriol who was sitting on the couch with the other journal on his lap had a far less intense stare on his face. He in fact seemed to be perusing the journal with some ease. He was also at a further spot in his journal than Sakura, who was just beginning hers, most probably because he had started on it a few weeks beforehand.

Tomoyo led him into the lounge and practically forced him to sit down on the floor with Sakura, who looked up and half-smiled at him.

"It's written in Chinese," Sakura informed him. "I can't understand."

He folded his legs gingerly, trying to avoid the Sakura's pale legs which were also crossed beneath the table. Why, oh why did she have to wear a skirt today?

"K-Keroberos can't decipher it with you?"

She half giggled, half snorted. "You'd think he'd be able to, wouldn't you?"

"Hey, I can hear you!" the Beast of the Seal shouted from the bedroom. From the faint noises Syaoran was hearing from the slightly opened door, it seemed that he was playing with the hand-held video game that Sakura had mentioned before. "It's been a long time since I've dealt with Chinese literacy!"

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him though he couldn't see, and to keep her from seeing him blush, Syaoran turned to Eriol who was joined on the couch by Tomoyo and asked, "And you're able to interpret it?"

Eriol gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course, Syaoran."

He felt like scoffing, even though Eriol was being perfectly modest.

"Well, all right. Let's all get to reading, then."

_**xxxxxx**_

Eriol and Tomoyo ended up having to move to the dining table, whereas Sakura and Syaoran remained in the lounge, sitting on the floor before the coffee table. He and Eriol should've known that the girls would grow impatient with curiosity if they silently read the journals with their eyes. After some pleading from the girls to read certain parts aloud, they figured it was just better to read everything out. So as not to mix up their voices and get the girls confused, the separation was necessary – but also uncomfortable for Syaoran.

His entire plan of escaping Sakura whenever he could was just not working out for him. This was especially evident with the current nearness of their two bodies, hunched together to both get a view of the book, although in Sakura's case to see the letters was needless, considering she couldn't even read them. But he knew that she couldn't just let herself sit back and listen, and that she at least needed to feel as though she were doing something to help.

The task of reading the entries aloud to her soon became harder and harder to do. She would laugh at some things Clow wrote and make cute, concentrated faces. Sitting next to her didn't do a great deal of good to his nerves, either. How on earth was he supposed to avoid that intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms that emanated from her hair? Or better, how was he supposed to stare at anything else but the petite figure of her body that was seated so nail-bitingly close to him?

And then The Fates, once again thinking it would be funny to toy with him, brought him to the part of Clow's journal that spoke of Madoushi, the Sorceress they had once encountered and defeated many years ago in China. The journal entry was clearly written before she had abused her magic and was imprisoned in the water dimension by Clow. In the current record that Syaoran was narrating to Sakura, it was a time that was very early in their relationship.

"Madoushi," Sakura interrupted at the first mention of her, "I remember her."

"So do I," said Syaoran. After all, how could he forget? It was during that spring vacation that he had first brought Sakura to meet his mother and sisters. He didn't know then that he would be bringing her back to spend time with them many times, after their relationship blossomed into something more in the sixth grade.

She had a pensive look in her eyes, as though she were reminiscing over that particular vacation, the same way that he was. Noticing his heavy stare at her, she flushed slightly and indicated towards the journal with her head.

"G-go on," she encouraged.

There was a very brief pause in which he did nothing more but stare at the heavenly shade of pink that coated her pale cheeks.

"S-Syaoran-kun?" she prompted, her voice low. "The journal passage?"

"R-right," he finally answered, blinking many times and returning his attention to the entry. "Sorry."

She didn't respond, only tried to discreetly inch a bit further from him on the floor – which he noticed, and subsequently ignored.

"Soo Yung and I spent the day under her favourite cherry blossom tree," he read aloud after clearing his throat, "It was her idea to have a picnic while Yue and Keroberos spent the day indoors to give us alone time. She fed me the sweets she made earlier and I watched her dance in the day's glorious sunlight…"

He paused, a terribly large knot lodging itself in his throat. Coming to his mind was a fond memory of a similar date that he and Sakura had when they were younger. It was also spent beneath a cherry blossom tree, but at Penguin Park, and she had not fed him sweets, but the dim sum she made, which she knew was his second favourite food after chocolate.

He looked down at her to see if she was bothered by his halt in reading, only to be surprised by the look that _she_ was giving _him_. It was obvious that he was not the only one remembering that date that ended in a tender kiss by her doorstep before her older brother promptly shooed him away.

Clearing his throat again, he sat up straighter, this time creating more distance between them himself, and continued, "I am so glad to have spent the day with her. She is my every happiness. I think of her by day and by night and always worry for her. Lately she has been talking frequently of another man, and it has caused me to feel very nervous. I love her dearly, and…" Syaoran sighed, closing his eyes. "And… to lose her would be devastating."

When he looked over to Sakura, she was much further away from him than she had last been. They had both scooted away, practically at opposite ends of the table now. Both their eyes were cast down to the floor, and their demeanours were uncomfortable – awkward, almost.

"How sad," Sakura said softly.

Syaoran couldn't agree more. "Yeah…"

"But… he moved on," she continued, slowly raising her eyes to barely make eye contact with him. "Didn't he?"

Syaoran shrugged. He knew very little about Clow's love life. All he knew was that it was he himself who banished his so-called "love" to that other dimension, so he couldn't have loved her _that_ much…

"That must have been so hard," she said, her voice still a hushed, gentle tone and clarified, "so hard for him to let her go. He banished her into that dimension for years before we released her…"

"Maybe he was jealous," Syaoran wondered, not knowing where on earth he found the boldness to suggest such a thing.

"Jealous?" Sakura echoed confusedly.

"Yeah," he said, unable to shut himself up. "He mentioned in that entry how she was starting to talk a lot about another man. Maybe it wasn't completely her abuse of magic that got her exiled – maybe Clow was jealous."

He could hardly believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. What had gotten into him?

"Syaoran-kun, don't be silly. Clow wasn't like that."

He scoffed. "You mean he wasn't a man? He wasn't a human?"

"No," she protested, looking upset at his sudden change in attitude, "of course not, Syaoran-kun, that wasn't what I meant at all…"

"It's in a man's nature to be jealous, Sakura," he said hotly and standing, no longer in the mood for reading. "If you don't understand that, then—"

She stood as well, stretching out her arms to take hold of him and to try to calm him down. "Of course I understand that, Syaoran-kun – what's the matter?"

Her frightened voice brought him back to his senses. What was he thinking, blowing up on her so abruptly like that? She wouldn't understand where it was coming from – she was far too dense to understand that he was reacting out of jealousy and inanity. His outburst would lead them to a pointless argument that one of them wouldn't even understand, if not nowhere.

"N-nothing," he answered breathlessly. "I'm sorry – I… I'm just frustrated. We haven't gotten any clues so far from what we've read."

"Syaoran-kun," she said gently, buying the excuse without another thought. After all, she was still under the impression that he had no lingering feelings for her… what would make her otherwise? "We won't stop until we find answers – and they're bound to be around somewhere, if not in these journals…"

"Of course," he said hollowly, backing up from her some more.

He blinked once to calm himself. Looking to his surroundings he spotted Eriol and Tomoyo who were still at the dining table, but no longer looking into the journal. Instead, they were both staring at their friends with similar emotions in their eyes. Tomoyo looked troubled and as though she wanted to say something desperately, while Eriol looked sad and disappointed.

"Excuse me," he said to all of them, deciding to bow out onto the balcony. Sakura watched him go reluctantly, as if not wanting to leave him alone – but at the moment, she was sure he would've rather been alone, than to be in her company.

He approached the metal railings and grasped them tightly. The rain had stopped long enough for him to have a quiet moment with the blustery weather that took its place. With a backward glance to make sure that the door leading back inside was shut, he returned to his attention to the winds, where he released a frustrated growl that echoed with the strong breeze blowing through his hair. It was better to release his anger in this way – instead of taking it out on Sakura.

"Everything okay?" he heard, and whirling around suddenly.

Eriol approached slowly with Tomoyo, sympathetic smiles on their kind faces.

Not caring whether they heard his angry cry of despair, he faced them with the madness clear in his eyes.

"You don't have to worry," Tomoyo assured him after he noticed the door she left ajar behind her, "you can tell us what's wrong – Sakura-chan won't hear. We asked Kero-chan to distract her. If he can help with anything, it's with talking up a storm."

He wanted to agree, but couldn't find it in him to do anything but frown.

The lack of responses they were getting from Syaoran began to worry them both. Was he really that upset?

Hoping to cheer him up, Tomoyo quickly said, "If it helps, Li-kun… you saw more of Sakura-chan this morning in the bathroom than Yoshida-kun ever has!"

Syaoran and Eriol raised their eyebrows at her. "What?"

"Sakura-san is a downright prude with him – she never lets him do anything but kiss her on the lips, her cheeks or her forehead or her nose. They've never even _tried_ to do anything more than that – unlike with you two, who I know did some other stuff – not all the way, but—"

The boys' eyes were wide. "_Daidouji_," Syaoran hissed, shocked at just how much he knew about Sakura's physical relationship with Kaito and even with himself.

"I'm just trying to help," she said, almost offended that he was using such a tone with her. "I'm just letting you know that Yoshida-kun isn't anywhere near where you used to be with Sakura-chan – at least, not physically. I _happen_ to be her best friend, if the both of you forgot that. She tells me things. And the stuff she tells me is that she hasn't gone anywhere past first base with him!"

"Tomoyo…" Eriol groaned, covering his face. As a man, and also as a man who knew Syaoran well, he knew that his reaction would not be a happy one, like Tomoyo expected. Why would he be pleased to learn of that particular fact about Sakura's relationship with Kaito?

"Daidouji!" Syaoran snapped in a scolding manner, which was a first for both him and her.

"I'm just saying!"

He turned around again in frustration, feeling as though he were truly becoming undone. First he was mistaken for Kaito himself, which never would have happened if he weren't forced to stay in the hotel he owned. Then he had that night alone with Sakura which didn't seem like a night alone with her at all, the more he thought about it – because Kaito was in every single part of that hotel, whether he liked it or not.

"I can't stay here," he said suddenly after a short moment of calm that didn't last very long at all. The surprise and confusion was clear on his two friends' face.

"Syaoran, what do you mean?" asked Eriol.

"I'm going insane here, Hiiragizawa. Being mistaken for him by his employees… seeing Sakura the way I did in her bathroom and spending that night alone with her in this hotel that he _owns_… I can't escape the man. It's like he's taunting me from over five thousand miles away!"

"Syaoran, calm down. You feel this way right now, but it's only temporary…"

"No, Hiiragizawa, that's the thing! I don't think it is!" he answered heatedly. "If I stay here for the rest of the week, I may just lose it. It's like the man is _watching_ me when I spend time alone with Sakura. I've got to face the facts, haven't I?" he demanded, turning to face Tomoyo who looked very unsure of how she was supposed to answer.

Not waiting for a response, he continued, "She's going to marry him, and this trip with her will be the last time I see her for another nine years – maybe _more_. And I can't enjoy a damn second of it if I'm staying in the hotel he owns!"

"All right, all right," Eriol soothed, taking him from the edge of the balcony for his own safety. "Just relax, would you? You don't have to stay here anymore. In fact… I think it's best we make a trip out of the country."

Tomoyo stared at him. "What do you mean? We already are on a trip out of the country…"

"Yes – you, Syaoran and Sakura-san are. But not me. I think our research is best continued elsewhere. I just sped read over the last half of my journal and took a peek in the other. There aren't any answers in any of them and I haven't gotten any clues from the memories of Clow."

"So…" Syaoran wondered, waiting for him to continue as the last of his madness fell away from him. "You think we should leave?"

"Yes," Eriol answered.

"And go where?"

Eriol clapped Syaoran on the back and put his arm around Tomoyo's waist, leading the way back inside the suite after feeling the first drop of rain that would probably continue on for the rest of the day.

"Tell me, Syaoran, Tomoyo… have you been back to China, recently?"

_**xxx**_.

**Author Notes:** Another trip? Sounds like fun to me!

Not really much to say here. There isn't any real update to be given – so why don't you guys tell me about _you_? Tell me how you are, how your day has been, how you're feeling! It shouldn't always be about me, hehe.

Thanks so much for your reviews, everybody! It really means a lot to me. So if you are taking the time to read even just a little bit of the story, please take the time to leave a tiny, iddy-biddy review!

For anyone else experiencing ridiculously hot weather like I am, I hope you're doing a much better job of beating the heat! And for everyone else – I hope your weather is treating you right!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	10. Decade

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter ten!

**Casting Shadows**

_Decade_

"I know this is sudden, Kaito-kun, but… trust me, I know what I'm doing," Sakura told her fiancé as she paced the floors of the airport. She knew it was wrong of her to make this call so last minute – but she knew that if she had informed him of the trip any earlier, he might have talked her out of it. Now, the next day since being told the new plan, with all her things packed and flight booked, there was no more putting it off.

"I'm really not so sure about this, Sakura," he said, the apprehension and uneasiness in his voice terribly evident. "You said you were going to a school reunion – fine. But in _London_? You've only been there for three days and now you're going to _China_? Is this some sort of international scavenger hunt reunion thing that I've never heard of before, or—?"

"I know it all sounds really hard to believe," she interrupted; worried that he might catch on. "But… I promise, I really am with school friends. And this trip to China that we're taking, it's – it's… just an idea that one of them had! You know, the one I told you about before, Eriol-kun… he practically told us it's all expenses paid, and…"

"Sakura, your stay in London was all expenses paid too, need I remind you?" he asked quietly. She felt like crumpling at the sound of his hurt voice. It was obvious that felt like as though what he had given her and her friends in London was not good enough. But that wasn't the case at all, but there wasn't a whole lot of the truth that Sakura could reveal to him. Frowning, she tried to ignore the guilty pang in her heart that throbbed incessantly.

"Y-yes, well… I haven't been to China in years, and neither has Tomoyo-chan. We sort of just… felt like it was fate!"

He was silent for a moment. "All right, well… who am I to stop you?" he finally conceded.

Sakura could have shrieked with relief. He was far too good to her. The answer to his question was: he was her fiancé. That was who he was to stop her from going on such an impulsive trip. But he didn't. He knew very well that she was her own person whom he could not control – whom he would never even dream of controlling.

"Oh, Kaito-kun. Thank you so much for understanding. I'll be back with you sooner than you know it, I promise."

"I should hope so," he answered, his voice not half as thrilled as hers. "I've never met this Hiiragizawa fellow, but I'm sure he will take good care of you in his home. Make sure you text me his address and phone number after you land, so I have another way of reaching you. Take care, sweetheart, and I will see you soon."

"I won't forget this time. I love you," she told him – but felt as though she were saying so for all the wrong reasons. Instead of whole-heartedly meaning it, the way she always did, she felt as if she _had_ to let him hear it, so she wouldn't feel so guilty about leaving on yet another spontaneous trip.

"I love you too," he said gently, and added before hanging up, "and tell your friends I'm sorry for not being able to accommodate them in the Yoshida Tower in China. If construction had been finished sooner, I would've given you all the penthouse suite again."

"Of course," she said to him, "they will definitely understand. Bye, Kaito-kun. I'll be careful, I promise."

She shut her phone off quickly and re-joined her friends who were sitting at the gate, killing time with one another before the boarded their flight in just a few minutes.

"You finally got it over with?" asked Tomoyo when she took a seat with next to her on the bench.

She nodded. "Yeah. He wasn't exactly pleased," she said, "but he understands."

Eriol and Tomoyo nodded, glad that Kaito didn't make too much of a fuss. Syaoran, however, was looking away and pretending not to have overheard their phone conversation yet again, or the current conversation his friends were having.

"He also says he's sorry for not being able to give us a room in his hotel," she relayed, "the tower in China isn't quite built yet, actually. There was another building over the spot where they wanted to construct it. They only began to bulldoze and deconstruct the original structure a month ago. According to Kaito-kun, the whole place is a mess and they've still got a long way to go. He's really sorry."

Eriol smiled, "Make sure you tell him not be sorry at all," he responded cheerfully. "It was nice of him to offer, but we can't always expect him to give your friends fine suites to stay in while we're abroad. In any case, there's more than enough room in my summer home in Hong Kong. I'd rather we all stayed there, anyway."

Truthfully, he was just trying to maintain Syaoran's sanity. Whether they stayed in his home or in a Tower was of no matter to him, except just the previous day his old friend had vented to him about the strains of staying in a "rival's" hotel. Were it not for that, he would have gladly accepted an invitation to stay once more in a penthouse suite. He guessed it was just coincidence that the Yoshida Tower was not yet fully constructed yet.

"Yes, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo chimed, "you must tell Yoshida-kun not to be bothered. In fact, you should tell him not to worry about us at all… and while you're at it, you can tell Li-kun to _lighten up_," she said, emphasizing her words as she poked him in his shoulder. He turned his face to stare at her with an annoyed look but did nothing more.

Sakura giggled and opened the side of her pink duffel bag slightly. "Kero-chan, how are you doing in there?"

The yellow beast's mouth was dripping with chocolate. "Um… Sakura, you'll have to buy more sweets for me. I… uh, ate them all."

"Hoe!" Sakura said to him, "You ate them _all_? Kero-chan, that was supposed to last you another eleven hours!"

"I couldn't help it; Tomoyo picked out the most tempting ones!"

As they argued back and forth for another short while, Tomoyo and Eriol once more ganged up on Syaoran to see what on earth his problem was this time.

"Aren't we doing exactly what you wanted?" Eriol whispered, his tone of voice coloured with confusion over Syaoran's discontent. "We're getting out of Yoshida's hotel and getting a change of scenery."

"I said I didn't want to stay in his hotel – I never said anything about going back to _China_. I haven't shown my face there since I left."

"But don't you miss your family?" Tomoyo wondered, "You haven't seen them in so long."

"We talk over the phone," he said, referring to Meiling, his sisters and his mother. "I call them almost every week. And anyway, it's the _other_ half of my family I don't want to see. If the clan realizes I'm back in China, they'll—"

"Do nothing," Eriol finished for him, sounding confident. Syaoran stared at him questioningly, wondering what he meant by that. "They won't do anything to you, Syaoran – you abandoned them, remember? If they hear you're back in town… they'll just leave you be, won't they? I mean, if Tomoyo told me the story correctly, they said they didn't want anything to do with you."

Ignoring the fact that Tomoyo had filled him in on what had happened after he abandoned the clan, he protested anxiously, "Y-yeah, but... they might find out about me being Clow's heir and… and…"

"They won't find out from me," assured Eriol, understanding why he didn't want them to discover the truth.

"Or me," agreed Tomoyo quickly.

Despite their promises, Syaoran was still not feeling very excited over his return to his hometown. He simply did not feel right about this trip to China… there was just no telling who they would run into while they were there.

"Oh come on," Tomoyo said encouragingly, "don't be such a worry wart. That nasty spirit trying to contact Clow didn't hurt any of you last night, and we get to go on a trip like the one we did in the fourth grade. For now, everything is fine. Can't you loosen up just a little bit?"

He lifted the corner of his mouth in a pathetic attempt to smile, but let it droop almost immediately. Tomoyo rolled her eyes. To him, there was just no seeing the bright side, was there?

"Tomoyo-chan," they heard suddenly, the voice both disrupting and ending their conversation. "I'm really sorry about this – but can you sneak Kero-chan some more food on the plane? He's just impossible."

"He's not the only one," she muttered, standing up as the two flight attendants standing by the podium some ways away from them began allowing passengers onto the flight. As they were all first class, they stood to board first.

As they got their tickets checked, Syaoran and Eriol gave the girls their space as they had their own conversation about the new journey they were about to embark upon. Without any of the girls around to complicate things, Syaoran asked, "Is this trip really necessary?"

"Necessary and convenient," Eriol answered. "Necessary, because I have a bunch of old things of Clow's that have survived all these years in my attic of the summer home. We can try looking there for some answers. Convenient, because you were going mad in the penthouse and you practically begged for a change."

With a sigh, Syaoran finally accepted the fact that they had to return to his home. "All right. Fine. But you'd better hope that we don't run into anyone I don't want to see."

"Relax, we're not going to run into the elders, Syaoran," Eriol assured him with a roll of his gray eyes.

"I'm not just talking about them," he ground out, annoyed.

Eriol paused before following the girls into the plane. "Who _are_ you talking about?"

Shaking his head, he lightly pushed the blue-haired annoyance past the flight attendant who finished with his ticket. "Never mind."

_**xxxxxx**_

It was afternoon by the time the plane touched down in Hong Kong. Much like the last time Syaoran landed on foreign soil, his stomach was a mess of knots, while Sakura's was not at all like that. She, as well as Eriol and Tomoyo, were eager to disembark and begin their new "adventure" together.

His three friends wasted no time in gathering their luggage and exiting customs. For some reason, they simply could not wait to leave the airport. He wondered why, because it wasn't as though the car service Eriol said he had called in advance was going to leave without them. So whatever it was that was causing their rush was beyond him.

As soon as they were out on the sidewalk, breathing the fresh Hong Kong air, their heads were swivelling every which way to find their driver. Apparently Sakura had spotted him or her right away, because she was waving wildly in their direction and hurrying toward them. Turning to follow the direction of her frantic waving, Syaoran realized with a painful sigh who their "driver" actually was.

"Ni-hao!" cried Meiling, rushing forward to greet Sakura with a bear hug. The girls embraced and for some reason, it was still hard for Syaoran to process whenever these girls were together, that it was the girl he loved with the girl he was once affianced to.

"Meiling-chan!" Sakura squealed, obviously just as happy to see her. They parted for a moment so both could give a quick appraisal of the other. Meiling appeared ever the same, which was a common thing amongst their group. There were few changes. She still wore her long, black hair in two pony tails at the sides of her face, which didn't look childish on her in the slightest. On her, she somehow made the style look very mature. And her eyes, just as Sakura expected, were still as piercing red as they had always been.

"Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun – Keroberos!" Meiling greeted.

"Brat!" Kero said enthusiastically from Sakura's bag, appearing to have survived the flight and very happy to see a familiar face. Having heard his loud cry of excitement, Sakura shoved him back inside the pocket after Meiling gave him a light pat on the head.

Quickly going over to her other friends and giving them tight squeezes, Meiling finished with the rest of her greetings. Because of the long embraces she was giving each one of them, it was a while before she finally got to Syaoran, who was standing behind them all, pretending not to notice the happy reunion.

"Syaoran," his cousin continued, eyeing him with a teasing smile in her eyes and on her mouth. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

He put his hands in his pockets. "Of course I'm happy to see you."

"Well – give me a hug, you big grump!" she laughed, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder. Who were they trying to kid? They weren't really like cousins – more like brother and sister.

"Meiling, why didn't you tell me you'd be the one to pick us up?"

She glanced at her three friends with her eyebrows raised slightly. "You didn't tell him?" she asked in sincere confusion.

Eriol and Tomoyo shrugged. "I happened to still have Meiling-san's number," explained Eriol. "We had a feeling you might object to her accompanying us on this trip."

"You're damn right I would have objected," Syaoran said at once, releasing her from their hug. "The more people in my family that know I'm here, the easier it will be for the elders to find out, too."

"Syaoran, calm down," Meiling soothed, rolling her eyes. "Even if they knew, I'm sure they wouldn't make a fuss over it."

"Why risk it?" he asked, still worried and not the least bit consoled.

"Oh, Syaoran-kun," Sakura chided, smiling at him, "don't be so upset. I'm sure they won't realize you're here. We'll keep a low profile."

Despite the butterflies that appeared in his stomach when she grinned at him, he turned away and grunted, "Yeah. Three magically-inclined people and two crazy girls. We'll definitely be laying low."

Sakura frowned, clearly affected by his tone of voice and sarcasm. Allowing her smile to drop somewhat, she laughed lightly, attempting to throw his moody behaviour over her shoulder, as she had been trying to do since the left Japan. She knew he was trying to be more cheerful, and she completely understood that being back in China set him on edge. It was just hard for her to hear him speak to her like that, no matter how often he'd been doing so lately – especially, considering what day it was…

"Sh-shall we get going?" Sakura suggested, not noticing the concerned stares her friends were throwing between herself and Syaoran. "We can drop our things off at Eriol-kun's house."

"And get something to eat!" Kero proposed from the bag.

"Those are both great ideas," Eriol agreed, following Syaoran's lead and carrying everyone's luggage into the two separate vehicles Meiling had brought with her. One she had told them she'd driven herself, and the other she had the airport to prepare for her in advance. As the two men loaded the girls' enormous suitcases into one and theirs in the other, Meiling hopped into the backseat of her own car and ordered Tomoyo to take the passenger's seat.

"Eriol-kun, you don't mind driving to your house after the flight, do you? If you're tired, I can do it," Meiling said.

Eriol shook his head. "No, I'm all right to drive. Syaoran, why don't you follow behind me with the other car?"

"Sure," he agreed easily, before noticing there was more than enough room in the other car for the rest of his party to fit into. It appeared then that he would be driving alone… which, of course, did not bother him at all. A long drive by himself was exactly what he had been craving since his maddening day spent in London. It would hopefully do him some good to have a moment by himself.

"But who's going to ride with Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

Syaoran noticed the mischievous twinkle in the three pairs of eyes that were watching him as he finished with the last of the luggage. He should have known! Why didn't he think ahead of time and realize that they would _of course_ invite Meiling to help recreate the summer that he and Sakura had finally gotten together?

"You guys…" he began, unsure how to protest.

"Kinomoto-san – you will go with him, of course. Won't you?" Meiling asked.

With a swift glance between Syaoran and her expectant friends, Sakura gave a small, hesitant nod. "S-sure."

Without another word, she got into the passenger seat of the other car and waited for Syaoran to join her. Watching her go with his eyes, Syaoran then switched his gaze over to his so-called "friends" to glare at them before trudging to the driver's seat, where he would once again have to be alone with Sakura for however long it took for them to get to Eriol's summer home.

As soon as the door shut, it was as though they were being contained in a sound proof cage like two animals being forced to mate. Already feeling his throat close up because of his close proximity to her, Syaoran rolled his window down a crack to allow some air in. Sakura followed suit, but whether it was because she felt the same suffocating feeling as he did was beyond him.

He waited for Eriol and the other girls to pull out before him, then trailed after them, willing himself not to ruin the professional paint job on Meiling's brand new looking car. As much as he was tempted to smear the fine polish or make a tiny, little dent, he was even more tempted to grab Sakura's hand as they drove together, the way he used to when they dated, back in the day.

The majority of the ride was silent. Sakura looked out her window while Syaoran stole sideway glances at her absent-minded face, enjoying the view. It appeared as though she was somewhat at her ease, not at all noticing his nervous peeks he was taking in her direction. When she turned to face him, he flushed beet red and snapped his head straight forward to face the road full on and swallowed thickly.

"Are you going to visit your okaa-sama?" Sakura asked brightly.

He let out a slow breath, thinking of how he should answer. "Maybe," he shrugged.

"I think you should," she responded with a shrug of her own. "I know you're afraid the elders might found out you're here, but the others miss you. _I_ miss them," she laughed.

"You do?" he wondered aloud, somewhat surprised.

She nodded in enthusiastically. "I adore your onee-samas and your okaa-sama. I would love to see them again."

He was quiet for a while before finally admitting, "They'd love to see you again, too."

She was the only girl he had ever introduced as a girlfriend to his family, and they loved her the moment she stepped in his home back in the fourth grade when he still hated her guts. It would be wonderful if he could just bring them all back together, but who knows what they might let slip in front of her? There were still certain things in China that he wasn't prepared to re-visit…

"Well," she said, smiling in his direction and nearly blinding him. "Maybe you'll change your mind. I think it would be really nice to see them and others from your past."

He swallowed the knot that re-appeared in his throat but said nothing. He terminated the conversation by not responding and continued to drive wherever it was that Eriol led. When he saw the roof of his surprisingly large summer home appear just beyond the other car, he restrained himself from shrieking in relief. The car ride with her wasn't as painful as he thought it would be – but the conversation they'd had he definitely could've done without.

He parked the car in Eriol's circular driveway, where a white fountain sat in a similar, circular patch of grass. He got out and leaned on the passenger side door, staring up at the house he considered a mansion. It was three storeys high with ancient vines hanging off the sides. The shell white paint was immaculate, as well as the gardening in front.

"Hoe… your house is… _big_," Sakura breathed.

Eriol, who was already unloading some luggage from the trunk, gave a brief glance upwards and a half shrug. "It's my summer estate. I don't stay here much."

Meiliing walked passed both Sakura and Tomoyo and went for the front door, opening it with the key Eriol had handed to her.

The girls helped by taking the duffel bags (because neither Eriol nor Syaoran would allow any of the three girls to carry the heavy suitcases) and stepped inside the estate, Sakura's eyes still wide and her jaw dropped. The floor they walked upon was white granite, smooth and impeccably clean. Before them was a curved staircase, to their left was the living room, and to their right a parlour. Climbing the first step of the stairs, Eriol beckoned the girls to follow him.

"Why don't I help you all to your rooms? Tomoyo, Sakura-san, there's enough space here for the two of you to have separate rooms. Meiling-san, if you want to stay here, there's room for you as well."

"Thanks, but I think I'll just go home after spending the day with all of you," she politely rejected.

Nodding, Eriol continued climbing. "Syaoran, let's help the girls first. I can show you your room last – it's just across from Sakura-san's."

Tomoyo gave a quick backwards glance to see Syaoran's reaction to being given a room right across from Sakura, and expelled a quiet "Ohohoho!" at seeing his stormy expression. Eriol, noticing the brief exchange between the two, smirked.

Upon arriving in a large corridor with lots of space between rooms, Sakura was shown to a spacious bedroom with a fireplace, queen-sized bed, and heavy white curtains. Tomoyo, whose room was right next to hers just a few feet over, was similar in size and décor. They put their things down and were left alone to freshen up or get into a change of clothes.

Syaoran, with his small rolling suitcase and lightweight duffel bag already in his possession, waited for all three girls to disappear before shoving Eriol's shoulder and dumping his things on the floor of his equally beautiful guest bedroom. Eriol did nothing but laugh at his aggression and followed him inside the room so that their squabble wouldn't be overheard.

"Very funny," Syaoran scowled, referring to his oh-so-clever room assignments.

"Syaoran, I wasn't very well going to give you the room on the other end of the house," Eriol laughed.

"And why not?" he grumbled.

"Because that would be ridiculous. Relax, it's not a big deal. So what if you see her, coming back from the bathroom wrapped in only a towel, again? Would that be so bad?"

Syaoran gave him another shove in the shoulder, only harder this time, to which Eriol just laughed even harder. Before they could continue their boyish arguing, a knock at the door stopped them. Tomoyo peered in after waiting a few seconds and stepped inside, Meiling in tow. She closed the door behind her.

"Sakura-chan is just getting settled in the other room. Shall we go get something to eat?" Tomoyo suggested.

"No," Syaoran immediately protested, suddenly feeling very congested in his large guest bedroom. "We can eat something here and get to work right away."

His friends frowned at him. "Why?" Tomoyo and Meiling both whined. "Do we have to? Can't we go somewhere nice and—"

"No!" he objected, shaking his head. "We went to London, wasted one day there and woke up with bruises on our arms the next. Haven't we learned our lesson yet? These trips we're taking are not vacations – at least, not until we figure out who is bothering us to get to Clow."

"Listen," Meiling said, an imploring tone colouring her voice, "I know after what you've all told me that this spirit, aura, or whatever it is, is evil and that it's been bothering all of you for almost a full month, but we're all here together – me, you, Tomoyo-chan, Kinomoto-san, and Eriol-kun. We haven't all been together in years. One little lunch at a nice restaurant, catching up, won't do anyone any harm."

"She's right," Tomoyo chimed, glancing at Eriol for his support.

Knowing it would upset Syaoran if he agreed; he could only shrug with a defeated look about his face. He was trying to win Tomoyo over, and if agreeing with her was going to help his case, then he would do so, even if he knew Syaoran wouldn't be very happy with him.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Syaoran answered evenly, despite the pleading looks he was being given. "To waste more time on this would be stupid. It would be better to… stay indoors."

"We'll get to work right away, after we eat lunch," Eriol compromised, giving everyone a questioning stare, wondering if this worked for them all.

The girls didn't seem too happy about it, but neither did Syaoran. Eventually, Tomoyo and Meiling huffed in reluctant agreement, and Syaoran rolled his eyes, stepping away from the group and walking to the door.

"Whatever," he conceded, stomping out and approaching the stairs. "I'll be waiting in the car. Just pick a damn restaurant."

Eriol followed him out to calm his nerves while the girls squealed in delight, going to Sakura's room to tell her the plan. She let them in with a smile and went to the mirror above the vanity to quickly fix up her appearance.

"Hey you guys! Sorry, I know I'm taking a while. Did Syaoran-kun say yes? Are we going to a restaurant?"

"Yeah, he was cool about it," Meiling lied, taking a seat on the bed. "The boys are just waiting in the car. So… how does it feel? Being back here?" she asked her two friends.

"Great," Sakura said excitedly. "I've wanted to come back since the last time I left. Do you think Syaoran-kun will change his mind about seeing his family? We talked about it for a little while in the car but I don't know if I changed his mind at all."

Meiling blew air out through her mouth noisily, disturbing the bangs on her forehead as she did so. "I don't know, Kinomoto-san. Honestly. I know he'd love to see them, but he really doesn't want to take any chances on the elders finding out that he's here."

"I don't think he even wants to leave the estate," Tomoyo commented, shaking her head in confusion. "I mean – I understand why he wouldn't want to see his family. But not leaving the house? Who is he so afraid we're going to run into?"

Meiling pursed her lips and stared at the floor, shrugging. "Well… I don't know. We should get going, though. Syaoran said as soon as we were done with lunch, we'd be working on solving that weird little issue you've all been dealing with. Shall we?" she asked, rising and approaching the door.

They nodded and descended the stairs together, exited the house and joined the boys in Meiling's car. Eriol occupied the passenger's seat while Syaoran sat in the driver's seat, his fingers tapping impatiently atop the steering wheel as the girls ushered themselves inside. As Meiling gave directions to her favourite restaurant, Tomoyo and Sakura secured their seatbelts.

Leaning forward slightly in the middle seat, Sakura prodded Eriol lightly in the shoulder. "Eriol-kun, what's the address of your summer home, by the way? I have to text Kaito-kun the address of where I'm staying. I said I wouldn't forget to text him this time."

Upon hearing the other man's name, Syaoran's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he navigated around the driveway. Ignoring everyone's glances in his direction just to see his reaction at the mention of Kaito, he withheld an annoyed grunt and pushed down on the gas. The sooner they got to the restaurant, the sooner he could get the ordeal over with and get down to actual business.

Thankfully it wasn't a long drive to the restaurant, and the girls along with Eriol did enough chatting so that he didn't have to volunteer any comments or anecdotes. In fact, they talked so much that it was a wonder they even needed this lunch to "catch up" with one another. It seemed as if they had done enough of that in the car.

When they arrived at the restaurant where they served a mixture of both Japanese and Chinese food, he parked and stomped out of the car, already in a bad mood before the journey had even officially begun. He walked behind the rest of the party as they approached the maître d, and asked for a table with room enough for all five of them. They were shown promptly to a large table on their veranda so that they could enjoy Hong Kong's fine summer weather.

As they took their seats, Sakura giggled as the wisps of her hair tickled her face as they were blown by the wind. "This feels like a great day," she sighed happily.

"Definitely," Tomoyo agreed as Eriol tucked her chair in from behind her.

Syaoran first tucked in Sakura's and then Meiling's, taking one of the last two seats available across from Sakura and next to Eriol. He stared in her direction and blinked once, captured by the simple look of her in the summer light.

"You think so?" he asked, aiming the question at Sakura and speaking for the first time since they got in the car. "I mean – you think that it's a… great day?"

She looked up at him and blinked. "Yes. Don't you?" she asked.

He didn't nod, but still stared, thinking of how to respond. Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling looked between the two of them, wondering what on earth was so great about this particular day.

A waiter with menus interrupted all their thoughts as he informed them of their specials for the day and what he highly recommended. Above her menu Sakura stared questioningly at Syaoran, her eyes narrowed slightly with a small pout on her face. When Syaoran was given his, he took a quick look at the words before him and attempted to steal an inconspicuous glance at Sakura's face, and instead met her eyes. He looked away quickly, pretending as though he hadn't just been caught trying to stare at her. Sakura's eyes narrowed further – did he remember what the day was, just like she did?

When the waiter left to allow them some time to make up their minds, they continued with the chatter. Sakura, less involved this time because she was far too busy gazing wonderingly in Syaoran's direction, could hardly keep up with the lively conversation. When the waiter returned some time later and asked for what she had chosen, she had no idea that any time had passed at all.

"H-hoe. I'm sorry, I…" she said, slowly moving her eyes off of Syaoran and back at the menu. He lifted his gaze from the table to look at her – he had felt her gaze on him the entire time. "I haven't made up my mind yet – could I…" she realized she had been speaking Japanese, and the waiter couldn't understand a word she was saying. She didn't realize that Eriol had translated for Tomoyo.

"She'll have a bowl of noodles with fried shrimp and your seafood medley," Syaoran said for her.

Confused, Sakura laughed nervously and said "thank you" in Chinese (one of the only phrases she knew), and tilted her head at Syaoran once the waiter left. "What did you say?" she asked.

He suddenly felt sheepish. "I – I just ordered your favourite for you. I'm sorry – should I not have? Maybe you don't like seafood anymore…"

She smiled brightly. "No, I do! Thanks, Syaoran-kun."

He returned the smile weakly, unsure if he could go on for the rest of lunch if she continued to stare at him the way she'd been doing before – he knew he shouldn't have mentioned the day. He was a fool for even bringing it up.

Syaoran sat quietly and stared at his lap while his friends continued to talk. To his great relief, Sakura continued to stare at him for only a few more seconds then rejoined the discussion. And only a short wait later did all their food arrive, for which he was very grateful and decided to leave a very large tip for such good service. The sooner he got out of there, the better.

Thankfully Sakura did not end up giving him the stare for the rest of the time they were there. She would glance in his direction occasionally, but never continued to look for much long. She was having far too good of a time being with her old school friends again – and Syaoran was happy to watch her from across the table as she laughed and ate little bits off her plate.

While he did nothing but pick at his own plate of dumplings with his chopsticks and tap his fingers on the table cloth, he was brought out of his reverie by an insistent calling of his name. Somehow the conversation had gone on for a while without his participation at all – until now. He looked up in confusion, shaking his head slightly to tell them he had not caught what they were saying.

"What?" he asked.

"Why are you so quiet?" Meiling wondered, looking at him with a scolding stare. "You've barely said anything at all."

"Sorry," he mumbled, avoiding Sakura's gaze that had once again found its way to him. "I'm tired from the flight, that's all."

"Well – maybe we should get going," Sakura suggested, addressing the entire table to make sure she wasn't proposing a bad idea. "Kero-chan is getting antsy to get back to the hotel—"

"Make sure you pack up your left overs!" he yelled from Sakura's purse.

She shoved him back inside the bag and coughed to throw off a passing waiter. "And it looks like we've all finished…" she continued, indicating to all of their nearly empty plates – except for hers and Syaoran's.

"Sure," Eriol agreed, standing and helping Tomoyo with her coat. "I'll have the waiter pack our left overs for Keroberos."

Relieved, Syaoran stood and took his wallet from his back pocket picking out a thick handful of bills and leaving it on the table. He was sure he must've paid over than what they actually owed, but he wanted to show just how grateful he was for their service. He was amazed at how painless the lunch actually was. The food came fast and a waiter had already appeared at the table to collect the money and pack up what they had not eaten. Thanks to them, he could go back to Eriol's house and begin with the real work.

As the waiter thanked Syaoran incessantly for leaving such a large sum of money and as Eriol took from him the Styrofoam packages of their leftovers, he whispered to Syaoran, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Even though he was right, Syaoran wasn't likely to admit it aloud – especially not to Eriol who would just gloat. "It was torture. Now let's leave."

"You could have talked with us more," he reprimanded lightly.

"I don't have a lot to say."

Eriol gave him an annoyed look but followed him and the girls out of the restaurant. Eriol handed Sakura the two styrofoam boxes so right away. They spotted the vehicle where they had left it in the parking lot and strode towards it casually – all of them except for Syaoran of course, who was in a great hurry to return home.

In his rush, he didn't notice the woman walking towards them, digging with one hand into her purse, obviously too distracted by whatever she was trying to reach, to also notice Syaoran in her way.

When they inevitably collided with one another, she dropped her bag onto the cement, her car keys following afterwards, falling with a light splat. Steadying first the girl and then himself, Syaoran bent down to pick up the things she'd dropped and held them out to her apologetically.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sheepishly, "I didn't see you."

The girl with long, straight black hair shook her head at the apology and smiled kindly. "No, no. Don't be, I was just trying to get my…"

Syaoran and the girl made eye contact, and the words dissolved from her tongue into thin air.

"Xiao-lang," she whispered softly, a look mixed with disbelief and joy spread out across her pretty face.

Syaoran attempted to swallow but found it impossible to do so. Surely the pretty young woman standing before him had to be a mirage, because he couldn't believe that his luck could actually be this terrible. How on earth could this have happened to him? Running into her, of all people, with Sakura just behind him? Were the Fates actually trying to ruin his already awful life?

"J-Jia…" he breathed, blinking repeatedly. "W-wh… what are you doing here?"

She smiled helplessly at him as though she were so happy to have run into him, but didn't know whether a hug or a handshake was more appropriate to give. So instead she gestured to the restaurant he and his friends had just exited and said, "I – I was just going to order some food for take-out. What are _you_ doing here?"

Syaoran didn't respond. He opened his mouth but could only gape open mouthed at the woman he called Jia.

"Oh crap," Meiling said from behind the pair of them, while Eriol, Tomoyo and Sakura exchanged looks of confusion. "Jia – I forgot you still went to this restaurant…"

"Meiling," said Jia to Meiling in a friendly, but guarded manner. "It's good to see you again. You and Xiao-lang… _here_… I didn't even realize he was back in the country… I – I'm so sorry, you're with your friends," she apologized, noticing the other three and shaking her head in embarrassment. And then she said, "I didn't mean to disturb all of you."

"You're not disturbing – not at all," assured Eriol, smiling kindly at her and offering his hand. "My name is Hiiragizawa Eriol. This Daidouji Tomoyo and Kinomoto Sakura-san. We are friends of Xiao-lang's from Japan."

In surprisingly good Japanese, she answered happily, "It's so nice to meet all of you."

Tomoyo managed a sweet smile in the girl's direction, while Sakura, who was still very much confused about the whole situation, could only muster a half grin. If only she could understand their conversation in Chinese! Clearly there was something about this girl that was making Syaoran very uncomfortable. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since the moment he realized who exactly she was.

"I'm sorry again for disturbing you," she said, still in Japanese and her smile somehow becoming prettier. "My name is Ling Jia."

"How do you know Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked, somehow able to regain her previous cheeriness. There was absolutely no reason for her to show unkindness to the girl – and even if she did have reason, she could never bring herself to act in such a way. But there was something very strange about the whole meeting and she just had to know how exactly she knew Syaoran and Meiling.

"Syaoran-kun?" Jia repeated, confused.

Sakura shook her head and realized she'd called Syaoran by the wrong name. "I mean… Xiao-lang?"

Syaoran's eyes shifted uncomfortably between Sakura and Jia. How on earth was he possibly going to explain this one?

"She – she… we…" he stuttered, the sweat forming on his forehead.

"Actually, I… well…" Jia interrupted, this time the one between the two of them that looked sheepish. "I'm his fiancée."

Sakura's grip around the leftovers suddenly grew limp. They fell in a mess on the cement beneath them and Tomoyo could not help but shriek, for she was wearing a brand new pair of pumps that she did not want to get stained.

"I – I'm so sorry," she apologized breathlessly, bending down in a blind panic to clean up what she could of the mess. "I hope it didn't spill on you – I mean…" she was shaking her head, trying to make sense of what she had just been told. Squinting up at the girl, her eyes grew moist. "You're his – you're… you're Syaoran-kun's fiancée?"

"No," said Syaoran immediately, coming in front of Sakura and throwing the ruined leftovers to the side so he could attempt to explain himself. "No, she's not. She isn't, Sakura – we _were_ – but not anymore! When I was in China—"

"No," she rasped, her breathing heavy as she avoided his touch and shrank away from his hold as he attempted to grasp her arms. "Please don't tell me… you've been engaged this whole time?"

"Please listen to me," he very nearly pleaded, moving forward as soon as she took a step away from him. "I can explain."

"Xiao-lang," said Jia, who the rest of them had practically ignored since she broke the news so they could observe Syaoran and Sakura's exchange. "You – you never told them?"

"_Jia_," Meiling stormed, no longer in such a friendly mood. "You know full well that you are _not_ his fiancée anymore!"

Jia seemed to shrink at Meiling's reprimanding voice. "I – I know Meiling, I was just hoping… if ever Xiao-lang came back to China that he would – it would be because he decided to try things again with me…"

"Well I haven't!" he snapped, turning on her and taking her arm. Obviously Sakura was far too busy digesting this new piece of information and it would not help if he were there to get her even more riled up. So while Tomoyo attempted to calm her down, he took Jia away from the rest of his friends and practically thrusted her into another part of the parking lot. His face was angry while hers was worried, but also sad somehow.

"Xiao-lang, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have announced our engagement so suddenly like that. But I—"

"What engagement? Jia, there _is no engagement_. Why did you say you were my fiancée!" he barked, not caring whether or not he seemed like a jerk at the moment. "I ended that arrangement before leaving China – and you know it!"

"I'm sorry," she apologized once more, sounding sincere and panicked. "I… I didn't mean to. That girl – is she your girlfriend? I must have terribly confused her. Xiao-lang, please let me explain things to her, I never meant to…"

"No," he grunted, running a hand through his hair. "You have done enough, Jia."

The young woman looked as though she were about to cry. "Xiao-lang, I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to give her the wrong idea – it's just that I…" she was wringing her hands together, as if preparing herself to make some big confession. "Xiao-lang – I've been waiting for you to come back ever since you left. All those letters I sent you were returned to me… I thought – I thought you knew how I still felt about you. There hasn't been anyone else since you…

Sighing, he didn't know how he could have this discussion with her without hurting her feelings even more. "Jia, I was never even your boyfriend! The elders betrothed me to you because of your family fortune. We barely even spoke – and you knew from the start that I was against our engagement!"

"I know, I know," she wailed. "But I… I fell in love with you, Xiao-lang... you know that."

He sighed again. How could this have happened to him? How could he even begin to explain to Sakura his history with Jia, without bringing up everything else he had done but not told her?

He released a concentrated breath. "Jia… I'm sorry I ended things the way I did. But I left you for a reason."

"And…" she asked, her eyes gravitating towards the ground. "Is that reason over there, hailing a cab?"

Syaoran looked over his shoulder and saw Sakura with Meiling and Tomoyo surrounding her, pleading with her not to get into the cab she had just waved over. He rushed forward, weaving in between the parked cars as best he could but still not making it in time to reach Sakura. The door had just shut in his face before he could even begin trying to talk her out of it.

"Sakura, wait," he beseeched, knocking on the car window. Sakura did not face him, only stared in her lap. "Please, open the door. Sakura… wait – Sakura!" he bellowed as the vehicle backed out of the parking lot. He had a half a mind to run after it – but he knew it was better not to. He was a decent runner, but definitely not good enough to catch up to a moving vehicle.

"Where is she going?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Back to my house," Eriol answered, feeling completely useless. "We tried to make her stay… we said you probably had a good explanation – which I hope you do, by the way."

"I do!" Syaoran scowled, staring after the car as it sped down the street. "I was going to tell her everything."

"Xiao-lang…" he heard a soft voice murmur. He turned to see Jia, still present, still wringing her hands nervously in front of her.

He sighed for the hundredth time and closed his eyes. "I have to go, Jia. Goodbye."

"Xiao-lang wait, please. If she is your girlfriend… I'd like to apologize. I never meant to complicate things…" she offered sincerely.

"She isn't my girlfriend," Syaoran moaned, his hands over his face.

"Oh," Jia anwered in quiet surprise. "If she isn't, then… why…?"

"It's complicated," he interrupted, taking her by the elbow and once more secluding them from his friends, who were watching their exchange terribly conspicuously. As soon as they were alone again, he took the opportunity to whisper, "Listen, Jia. I – I'm sorry for leaving you all those years ago. You deserved a proper goodbye. I hope this one will suffice."

"Xiao-lang, please… I don't care that you've been exiled from your clan – I still want to be with you."

"But I don't want to be with you," he said, suddenly very uncomfortable. "Jia, you – you're very beautiful. And you are kind and sweet and generous… but I…"

She smiled sadly, coming to the conclusion she was trying hard to avoid. "You're in love with that other girl."

He didn't respond. He didn't even nod – if he could spare the poor girl's feelings at least in this aspect, he would do so.

She gave a humourless laugh and shook her head. "Just my luck."

He frowned and attempted to reach out to her. "If it helps… I know how you're feeling right now."

The sad smile never left her face. Instead of talking, she took Syaoran by the shoulders, leaned in, and pressed her lips to his forehead. Stepping away from him, she gave a small nod and a wave, returning to the direction of her vehicle. It was obvious that she wouldn't be getting take-out anymore. If he were her, he would have lost his appetite, too.

He just could not believe thatsShe hadn't moved on after all these years. He could definitely sympathize with her, because of the obvious fact that he was still in love with Sakura. He at least hoped that this meeting between the two of them would give her the closure she fully deserved.

"I'm sorry," he said again to her retreating figure. She turned around and acknowledged his apology with another smile and a nod of her head. And then, remembering himself, he asked, "And Jia? Could you… could you not let anyone else know that I'm back in the country?"

This time she smiled a real smile, as if laughing at his odd request. She slid her index finger and her thumb across her lips, pretended to lock the side of her mouth, and threw away the imaginary key as her promise to keep their little run-in to herself. If she was lucky, she would never have to recall the event for the rest of her life.

Finally able to attend to Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling, he released a heavy long-held breath and trudged back to their car. Wordlessly he seated himself into the passenger's seat, simply because he was in no state to be operating heavy machinery, and waited for his friends to join him in the car. They did so but said nothing until they strapped on their seatbelts and started on the way home.

Finally Syaoran asked, "Is she… is she furious with me?"

Tomoyo shook her head in the backseat. "No… I don't think so. She just feels… lied to, sort of."

He groaned. "How am I going to tell her…"

Tomoyo and Eriol exchanged looks of expectation between each other and then stared at Meiling. His cousin merely shrugged and nodded in the direction of Syaoran, who was staring hopelessly into his lap.

"Well?" Tomoyo prompted. "Meiling isn't going to tell us anything. Are _you_?"

He was really dreading the moment that he'd have to delve into all the real details of his departure from China. He was hoping he'd only have to do it once, with Sakura, who was the only one he wanted to explain things to. But he couldn't deny Eriol and Tomoyo an explanation either – an explanation they both deserved.

He exhaled slowly before beginning. "Daidouji – do you remember when I told you I flew back to Japan after three years of being away?"

She nodded slowly.

Syaoran closed his eyes and continued. "I didn't just come back because I was fed up – it was because of that, and… mostly because… they betrothed me to Jia."

Tomoyo closed her own eyes upon hearing the real truth, and shook her head from side to side. "Li-kun… why didn't you ever mention this?"

"I didn't think I would ever need to," he said, sounding desperate for them all to understand. "Listen – I disputed the arrangement the second they made it, but there was nothing I could do! They scheduled my days so that for a few hours each week, I'd be spending time with her. I could tell she'd really started to have feelings for me and I wasn't sure if I could go through with breaking another girl's heart… I just…"

"In Syaoran's defense," Meiling chimed, noticing how Eriol and Tomoyo's faces grew more and more disappointed. "He complained about the betrothal every single day. To the elders and even to Jia herself."

"No," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, his face still cast downward. "They all have a right to be upset. I didn't do enough. I should have left the minute they told me about the betrothal. I shouldn't have waited until a few weeks before the wedding."

"You waited until that long?" Tomoyo practically shrieked. "Li-kun! You have the most terrible timing!"

"I know, I know," he agreed miserably. "I get it, okay? I should have told all of you the truth, the minute we made arrangements to return to China. I shouldn't have kept any of you in the dark about it. Especially not Sakura." But, how could have he possibly predicted that his bad luck would grow even worse and put him in the same parking lot as his ex-fiancée?

"You'll have your chance to tell your side of the story," Tomoyo informed him. "Sakura was upset – but she said before getting into the cab that she just couldn't share a car with you – or with any of us. She just said she wanted a ride back to the house by herself – so she could be alone, to think and… you know, get this through her head."

He nodded, already preparing himself for the conversation he knew he had to have with her once they were at the estate. "For once in your lives, all of you – please don't meddle. I need to tell her what really happened between me and Jia."

They all raised their hands in surrender, though Tomoyo didn't look too happy about it. He was counting on Eriol to keep her busy by whatever means necessary so their conversation could at the very least be private.

As they neared Eriol's estate, they saw the cab that Sakura had taken exiting from his driveway. Sitting up, Syaoran was ready to bound out of the car and straight up to her bedroom, where he knew she'd be – hopefully not crying.

Together they left the car and entered the house where it was eerily quiet. Sakura was obviously settled, and there was nothing left to do but go to her and explain. With encouraging glances, Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling left went to the living room where they would while their time away in agonizing suspense. How their lives had become a lot like a soap opera-slash-adventure-comedy they had no idea, but they were (for the most part) enjoying every minute of it.

Leaving them and making his way up the stairs, Syaoran calmed his nerves and tried to practice whatever beseeching speech he thought would work on Sakura. All too soon he arrived just outside her bedroom door – which hopefully was not locked – and any words that he had prepared on the short journey from the bottom of the stairs to the top had completely escaped him. But he couldn't let another moment go to waste, thinking of what to say. It was the moment of truth – literally.

He knocked on the door and put a hand over the knob, pushing lightly and praying he would not feel resistance. He realized with an inward cry of relief that she had left it unlocked. That was one hurdle passed – an even bigger one awaited him.

Closing the door behind him, he spotted her sitting at the foot of her bed, her back facing him as she peered out the window. Were there tears in her eyes? They were quite wet when he had tried to explain in the parking lot… perhaps the water works weren't through yet, or maybe they hadn't yet begun. If she were crying, it would make the conversation a whole lot harder to have…

"Sakura," he said quietly, coming slowly to her side. "Please don't ask me to leave. I owe you…" he trailed off, shaking his head. He owed her an apology, an explanation, the truth and nothing but the truth.

"No," she answered softly, turning to face him softly. "You… you owe me nothing, Syaoran-kun. I'm sorry. I… I overreacted."

He blinked as his eyebrows drew together. Were his ears functioning properly, or had Sakura just apologized to _him_?

Quickly he joined her on the bed, sitting a safe distance away from her, in case she was not yet prepared to have him so close to her. "Sakura – what are you talking about? You don't have to apologize for anything – it's me who is in the wrong."

"No," she insisted, turning to face him full on and looking very apologetic. She was staring at him so sincerely, it confused him even more. "It's me, Syaoran-kun. I… I don't have any—"

"Let me explain first," he interrupted. "Before we go on with anymore apologies – I need you to hear this. Please let me explain?"

She inhaled and it looked as though she really did not want to hear any more about his relationship with the pretty girl named Jia – but it was obvious that Syaoran was determined to get it out of him. So reluctantly she kept her lips together in a straight line, steeling herself for the story to come.

He copied her actions and breathed inward, releasing the breath through his nose. He began slowly, "I – I left you… all those years ago… and I never thought I would come back to you."

She smiled sadly. "But you did."

"Yes," he told her, "but… not a month ago, when I needed your help. Sakura, I – I came back three years after being away."

Her eyes grew wide. She was quiet for a long time before finally asking with heavy emotion in her voice, "You came back? _Why_?"

He swallowed thickly. "It… it doesn't matter why I came back. It matters why I left. I left because – because…" wisely choosing not to admit his lingering feelings for her right then and there, he instead chose to tell her the other half of the reason, "because the elders had betrothed me to Jia, and I couldn't go through with the marriage. But I ended it, Sakura – she made it sound like we were still engaged, but we're not. I promise you, we're not."

She was shaking her head at him with a somewhat angry, somewhat disappointed look on her pretty face. "Syaoran-kun – why? Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that I had caused you so much pain already, and to tell you about the engagement and about my return after a three year absence – it would do nothing for you. If anything it would just confuse you and cause you more harm than good."

"You _still_ should have _told_ me," she said adamantly, her eyes fixed upon his pleading face. "There has never been a day when I've been dishonest with you, Syaoran-kun. Even though we're not together anymore, I thought we could still do each other that courtesy of being truthful with one another." Her voice was growing louder with each word, and there was no doubting that she sounded hurt.

"I know, I know," he said desperately.

"Even with Kaito-kun, I was going to tell you about him. I was going to introduce you to him the very next day after you came back – the _second time_," she added, all the more hurt.

Having her mention her beloved fiancé did not help the situation, but he could not allow anger or jealousy to distract him from his current goal – gaining her forgiveness.

"I know," he said again, tightly this time because of the mention of Kaito, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me."

She looked about herself helplessly and turned to face the window again. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but thought better than to put a hand on her. She was obviously trying to gather her thoughts, and his touching her probably would not help.

After what felt like forever, she turned back around, and though there was still a hard stare in her eyes, she seemed calmer. And thank goodness, there were still no tears.

"Syaoran-kun, I… I still would like to apologize. I can't pretend like I'm… like I'm innocent in all of this."

He didn't speak, simply because he was far too confused. What did she mean?

She shook her head some more and looked embarrassed, smiling despite herself. "There I was, standing in the parking lot of a restaurant, feeling like a fool after finding out that my ex-boyfriend had been engaged… when I had no right."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Syaoran-kun, I'm supposed to be the dense one, remember?" she asked, laughing with mixed irony and hilarity, then continued. "When you found out about my engagement to Kaito-kun, you were so understanding about it. And I realized in the car ride back – if you could be okay with my current engagement to Kaito, why should it be so hard for me to just learn that you _used_ to be engaged?"

"Oh…" he breathed. "Yes, well…"

"We… we loved each other very much for a time," she said, her voice a soft whisper. "But you were still so accepting and civil with Kaito. And me? I couldn't even string more than a few words together around Jia. I just… I just ran away."

His heart clenched. "Sakura…"

"No, Syaoran-kun. I was being unfair to you. I have no right to be upset over your engagement to Jia, when it's me who is still engaged to marry someone else. You've been nothing but understanding and I completely overreacted. I know you're not engaged to her anymore, but I should apologize for my behaviour to her as well."

Syaoran was far too speechless to conjure any kind of response. Yes, he was civil and understanding on the outside, but internally, he felt just as she did. He couldn't stand being in the same room as him or the simple mention of his name in a conversation. If he could show just how much he disliked Kaito, he would, but only refrained from doing so, so as not to upset Sakura. If only she knew how he truly felt…

"I just…" Syaoran began, ending the silence, "I want to apologize again. I wish I could have protected you from all of this – or at least have come clean on a different day."

Slowly lifting her gaze from his chin to meet his amber eyes, she asked quietly, "W-what is so important about today?"

Syaoran restrained a groan and the sudden urge to slap himself on the forehead. Why had he mentioned the day again?

"O-oh," he stuttered, feeling his throat constrict, "n-nothing…"

"Nothing?" she asked expectantly. "Really?"

His eyes grew soft. What was the point in pretending anymore? "You remember, too?" he asked gently, though he didn't need to. After listening to her conversation with Tomoyo after three years of being away, he had burned in his mind every word the two had exchanged. He particularly could not forget the fact that she knew which day marked his departure from Japan.

"Yes," she admitted, an unexpected tear appearing in her eye. "I remember every year."

They heard the doorbell sound but did not move. They sat, still evenly distanced from one another on the bed, staring at one another. There were voices heard as the door opened to allow the guest entrance, and from the sound of the voice it was a male visitor. But at the moment, Syaoran felt as though he'd ignore the whole world coming down around him before he would take his eyes off Sakura.

His arm appearing to have a mind of its own, it raised slowly and somehow it found its way to her face. He wiped away the tear, before it had a chance to fall. "I can't believe ten years has passed since I left you."

She didn't seem to mind his hand upon her cheek. It actually looked as though she whole-heartedly welcomed the touch. "A decade," she reiterated, sounding just as much in disbelief. "A whole decade. Time flies, doesn't it?"

Actually, each year he spent away from her felt like an eternity. It may not have felt that way for her, but he could not deny that his life without her was like an agonizingly slow existence without anything to truly look forward to. He wished more than anything that he could tell her that much, but knew better. So he answered, "It sure does."

The distance between them somehow disappeared. A mere inch separated their bodies on the bed, and even less separated their faces. Her eyes were closing and so were his, and the only thing present in his mind was the fact that it had been a whole ten years since he had last kissed the girl he loved. Perhaps it was time he broke the fast.

Suddenly the door to her room swung open and a booming voice called out her name, jarring them both from their trance.

"Sakura!" Kaito said excitedly as his eyes scanned the room. It was not long before he spotted her… on the bed. With Syaoran. And their faces dangerously close to each other's.

He dropped the suitcase he had in his hand. He opened his mouth, his suddenly flat voice a shadow of its usual optimism.

"Surprise, Sakura."

_**xxx**_.

**Author Notes:** Uh oh, spaghetti-o! Someone is in big trouble!

Also, many of you were wondering whether Meiling would appear in my story – ta-da! We have the whole gang! Well, the _main_ gang, anyway… :P

I am working like a mad woman, and I am frantically trying to write the last few chapters of the story before my summer is over! I would hate to leave you guys hanging while I took an eternity trying to tie up loose ends for the story. I am doing my best, and I hope my best works out for all of us!

Reviews, though not expected, are wholly welcomed – and people who leave one for me are very much loved (as are the people who simply read)! :).

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	11. Truth Be Told

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter eleven!

**Casting Shadows**

_Truth Be Told_

"K-Kaito-kun!" Sakura stammered, standing immediately as though the bed had caught fire. "W-what are you – w-why are you...?"

Kaito's eyes never left Syaoran, who was still sitting on the bed and staring right back at him with a blank expression. Not even when Sakura had put her arms around her fiancé in a welcoming embrace did he remove his powerful stare.

"I realized after I hung up on the phone with you earlier that I missed you too much," he explained, his voice still flat and eyes still ever glued upon Syaoran. "I couldn't find a decent flight to China that would get me to you soon enough, so I had a friend fly me from his private jet. I must have left only an hour or two after your own plane took off."

She couldn't believe that this was happening to her – her fiancé had just walked in on her in a terribly compromising situation with her ex-boyfriend. How was she going to make him believe that nothing had transpired when it certainly looked otherwise?

Smiling nervously, she brought her hands to his face and had to physically remove his gaze from the man on the bed.

"I'm glad you're here," she said gently.

With his hard stare now on her instead of Syaoran, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Are you?" he asked, a rough edge now colouring his voice.

She looked positively dismayed at his question. He had never spoken to her in such a tone before. "Of course I am," she said earnestly, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Syaoran turned his head quickly the other way. Oh, the Fates had certainly dealt him a tough blow. He was about to kiss Sakura for the first time in ten years, and instead she kisses another man in front of him.

"Don't be silly. I missed you too, Kaito-kun. I'm happy you came. I was just... I – S-Syaoran-kun here was just… we were just…"

"Catching up," Syaoran finished for her solemnly, standing from the bed. He couldn't simply leave Sakura to think of an excuse all by herself – he was at fault for what almost happened, as well. "We were just catching up."

"Is that so," Kaito asked him with no upward inflection to his question and no real sound of curiosity in his tone.

"Yes," Syaoran answered, his voice even, hoping that Kaito would buy it. He held out his hand and waited for him to shake it, which he did. Both held the other hand with surprising tightness in their grip. To take the heat off of Sakura and to try to change subjects, Syaoran said, "Welcome to China."

Kaito did not answer. Instead he turned to Sakura, put both his hands in his pockets and told Sakura, "I didn't want to bother you on your…. school reunion," he said skeptically, "but I really did miss you. And I still don't want to be a bother. Do you think your friend Hiiragizawa could help me find a hotel? I'd stay at my own, obviously, but seeing as it's not built yet…"

"Nonsense," said Eriol, who appeared at the doorway, leaning against the frame. "You can stay here."

Both Sakura's and Syaoran's eyes widened at his offer of accommodations.

"No," Kaito protested, his voice friendlier now. "Please – I'd rather not impose or ruin your reunion—"

"Don't be ridiculous," Eriol interrupted, "you didn't even know me and you were ready to let me stay, free of charge, in your hotel in the most expensive suite. The very least I could do is give you a room in my own home."

Kaito smiled gratefully at him but turned to face Sakura. "Would that be all right with you?"

"O-of course," she answered, nodding and blinking, still surprised at Eriol's suggestion. "That – that would be perfectly all right with me."

Syaoran glared at Eriol, his jaw clenched tightly to keep himself from saying anything that would make everybody uncomfortable. Eriol returned his friend's glare with an imploring glance that pretty much said, "What else can I do?" His gaze then morphed into a more apologetic one, and with the next words that escaped his mouth, Syaoran soon understood why.

Returning his attention to Kaito, Eriol said, "There's more than enough space for you to have your own room, but if you like, you could share this room with Sakura-san."

Sakura began to chew on her bottom lip. Sharing a brief glance with his fiancée, Kaito shook his head slowly and kept a modest smile about his handsome face. To Syaoran's delight, he answered, "No, that's all right. Sakura and I, we… we don't share beds." Though, it appeared to him that she was perfectly comfortable sharing a bed with Syaoran.

"Oh," Eriol responded in small surprise. "All right then – why don't you follow me? I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you," Kaito answered appreciatively, picking up the suitcase he had dropped when he'd first entered Sakura's room.

"Is this all you have?" Eriol wondered aloud as they both exited from the room.

"Ah, well… yes," he answered sheepishly. "I was really eager to see Sakura… I didn't give a lot of thought to my packing."

"Well, no problem," Eriol told him. "You look about the same size as me. I don't mind lending you some clothes, if you need any."

"Oh," said Kaito sounding even more grateful, "that's very kind of you."

As they chatted the rest of the way to his guest bedroom, Sakura brought both of her hands to her head and began to shake. Noticing this, Syaoran approached her to take her by the shoulders, thinking it would calm her. She stepped back almost immediately from him and took to shaking her head, staring at him incredulously.

"He is furious with me," she nearly whimpered.

"No he's not," he answered her evenly, "he didn't even yell at you."

"I don't need him to raise his voice to know that he's angry with me!"

"Sakura, calm down," Syaoran told her, still wanting to take her by the shoulders and to rub soothing circles into her back, the way he did before when they were together. "You can just explain to him. Nothing… nothing even happened."

"No?" she asked, sounding sincerely confused.

He didn't know how to answer. "Sakura…"

She stopped him with a swift motion of both her hands, waving them at him in a desperate signal to stop talking. It was best that they did not speak of what nearly happened. She should have just agreed with him when he said nothing happened – because, technically, it was the truth. But she could not stop her mind from making images in her mind of what it would've been like had Kaito not interrupted them.

"I have to go," she said suddenly, turning around promptly to exit the room.

Syaoran opened his mouth to ask her where she was going, but she had already left. Anyway, there weren't a whole lot of places she _could_ go. Either she was going to debrief with Tomoyo and Meiling, or try and explain herself to Kaito. Whichever of the two it was that she chose to do, he knew better than to be present at either.

Deciding to avoid Kaito at all costs, in case things got ugly between the two of them, he went downsstairs to sit and wait in the living room for whatever would happen next. He was hoping that as soon as they had returned from the restaurant that they'd be able to do some research on the spirit attempting to contact Clow, but more obstacles got in the way of that endeavor. Now he had to wait to make sure everything was all right between the girl he loved and her fiancé before he could do as he pleased.

Upon entering the living room, it was clear to see which choice Sakura had made between her friends and Kaito. Seeing the girls by themselves, biting their nails and literally sitting on the edge of their seats, it was obvious that she had chosen the latter – which made sense. She didn't have anything to say to her friends, but there was a hell of a lot of explaining she had to do with Kaito. Sighing, he took a seat on the sofa next to Meiling.

"Oh my gosh," Tomoyo started, not even waiting for his bum to reach the cushions. Immediately she began to describe what had happened when Kaito first arrived.

"Li-kun, I'm sorry! I _tried_ to keep him downstairs so he wouldn't interrupt your conversation! But he was just too excited to see her!"

Syaoran's face was in his hands as he tried to wish away the last few weeks spent with Sakura. "It's all right, Daidouji."

"No, it isn't! You two must not have done a lot of talking – you were only up there for a little while. I wanted to buy you two as much time as possible – you know, to get everything out! I hope he didn't interrupt anything very serious…"

There was an obvious tone of curiosity in Tomoyo's voice. Clearly, both girls were simply dying to know what happened. Sighing heavily, Syaoran decided that he might as well let them know of what happened between him and Sakura. He had kept enough from the two of them, and if anyone would know what to do in his current situation after all that had occurred, it would be them.

"He came in as we were about to… to…" he muttered, his cheeks flaming pink. His face crumpled as he recalled how rudely he was deprived of such an intimate moment with Sakura. "To kiss."

Their eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"_No_," Meiling gasped in disbelief.

"He didn't!" Tomoyo also cried, equally dismayed.

"He did," Syaoran groaned.

At that moment, Eriol appeared with a sympathetic look about his face, taking a seat opposite Syaoran.

"What are you doing here?" Syaoran snarled, obviously unhappy with the man sitting across from him. "Shouldn't you be with your new best friend?"

Eriol's eyebrows rose. "You mean Yoshida-kun?" he asked, half scoffing and half laughing.

Opening his mouth, Syaoran used a tone of voice that was meant to mimic Eriol's – though it sounded more ridiculous than it did accurate. "Do you want to share a room with Sakura-san? Do you want to borrow my clothes? Do you want to run away and elope?"

Tomoyo and Meiling looked between the two men, confused. Eriol rolled his eyes and said to them, "He is embellishing."

"Only the last part!" Syaoran exclaimed, standing from his seat and doing the only thing he felt that he could do, which was to pace. "Are you trying to get on his good side for free lifetime service at his hotel, or something?"

"No," Eriol answered sincerely, "I'm just trying to be nice to the man. He did, after all, walk in as you were about to kiss his fiancée."

Syaoran stopped his pacing and turned to look at his friend seriously. "You saw that?"

"Of course I did," he answered, leaning back on the sofa and shaking his head. "Before I ducked out to give you three some privacy, I was right behind Yoshida-kun, trying to keep him from walking in on you two, in case you two were doing something inappropriate. Obviously I didn't succeed in that venture."

Syaoran frowned. Despite hating Kaito for being with the girl he loved – despite _everything_, he could not help but to feel guilty. He could only imagine being in his place. What if it were him who was engaged to Sakura, and the one to walk in on her as she nearly kissed another man? If Syaoran was being honest with himself, Kaito did not deserve that kind of betrayal from her. He was a really decent person and he hated to admit that to himself. What he and Sakura had been doing lately together was simply not fair to him, _or_ Kaito,

"Nothing happened," he muttered, his amber eyes lowering to stare at his feet.

"No?" Eriol asked skeptically, almost in the exact same way Sakura had asked him.

"No!" Syaoran confirmed angrily, wanting to lunge at him. "Nothing happened, okay? Something almost did, but – but who's to say she wouldn't have turned her face at the last moment? It wasn't going to happen – Sakura is too good of a person. I know she wouldn't have let it get so far."

They kept their mouths shut after that – with the exception of Meiling, who said in a tone so quiet, it was though she were afraid to say it out loud, "But… she let it get far enough."

And everyone else, including Syaoran, knew she was right.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura sat by herself on the bed, this time in Kaito's guest bedroom, silent as she watched him empty what little things he had from his suitcase. Neither of them had spoken since she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"How was your flight?" she asked quietly, peering up at him nervously.

"All right," he answered emotionlessly. "We experienced quite a bit of turbulence… I had my friend – Hitoshi-kun, you know him – fly me so I'd get to you as soon as possible."

"Oh," she said, feeling smaller than ever as he revealed more and more about his spontaneous plan to visit her.

He threw a shirt into one of the opened drawers and put his hands on his hips, staring at the floor beneath him. "I – I'm sorry for coming so suddenly. I know it's only been a few days since you left. It just felt weird having you away from me. Usually it's me that's away on business… I don't mean to come off clingy, or—"

"You don't come off like that at all," she assured him, hating herself all the more because he sounded so sincere and apologetic when it was herself that was in the wrong.

Kaito had stopped packing completely. He was quiet for a moment before continuing, "Maybe I should've left later – or maybe I shouldn't have come at all. I could've spared myself a rather odd… viewing."

Sakura stood instantly and took quick strides to her fiancé. She hugged him from behind and buried her face in his back before turning him around to face her. When he didn't resist the movement, she quickly thanked her lucky stars. She really did not want to have to spend the rest of their conversation speaking to his spine.

"Kaito-kun, please… _please_ understand. We weren't doing anything. We were just talking…"

"Really, Sakura?" he asked, removing her hands from his waist but still holding onto them tightly, as if he couldn't bear to let her go. "It didn't look like you two were just talking."

"I know it looked bad, but you must understand – it isn't like that between Syaoran-kun and me!"

He sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side, his grip on her hands loosening. But she still held on for dear life.

"I'm not a jealous man, Sakura, and you know that. And it's not like I don't trust you. I _do_ trust you. I also know Li-kun is a good man. It's not like I didn't trust him, either. But after seeing you with him like that just now… I don't know if I do still trust him."

"Of course you can trust him!" she appealed, bringing their joint hands upwards to her face, so she could rest her cheek against them. "If there is anyone besides Tomoyo-chan that you can trust me with – it's him." She paused for a moment to let those words sink in his mind. He did not appear to be changed. "He was telling the truth, Kaito-kun. All we were doing was catching up."

He inhaled slowly, running a hand through his dark, black hair and closing his beautiful, grey eyes. When he opened them again, the hard stare had disappeared completely. There within his eyes was a soft, loving gaze that bore down on her, making her feel both relieved and all the more guilty.

"I believe you," he said honestly, placing a tender kiss on her forehead and capturing her in a tight embrace.

Sakura nestled her head in his broad chest and said a smothered, "I love you."

She felt his chest rise and fall in staccato fashion as he chuckled. "I love you too."

She closed her eyes and allowed him to practically swallow her in his strong arms, praying to the heavens that she really _would_ get swallowed, or at least be granted the ability to disappear, because how she was going to survive the rest of the trip with both Kaito _and_ Syaoran living under the same roof, was completely beyond her.

_**xxxxxx**_

After kissing and making up, Kaito and Sakura descended the stairs together, holding hands and smiling. When they came into the living room to join the others, the majority of the party looked happy to see that they had worked things out. Even Syaoran was glad that Sakura was not in deep trouble, but it still irked him that they were holding hands.

"Yoshida-kun," Eriol started, standing from the sofa, "I was wondering when you'd come down. We all just came from having lunch – but if you're hungry; I had my pantries re-stocked by some maids right before we got here. You can help yourself to anything. I can order in for you if you want, too."

Syaoran glared at him and did his best to hide his irritation before he found himself making any more comments about the pair of them eloping.

"Um, no, thank you, I'm not hungry right now," he answered, smiling happily at all of them, even Syaoran, though his grin lost some of its charm when his gaze landed upon him. "Actually… if it's all right with all of you, I was hoping I could steal Sakura away for a moment."

Syaoran's glare grew more potent. "Steal Sakura away", he said – but he should've said, "steal her more than I already have".

"Is it okay?" she asked quietly, in a voice sounding so guilty for wanting to leave them that it came off as adorable. "We wouldn't be going very far."

"Not far at all," Kaito expanded, "I actually just wanted to spend some time with her – maybe even show her the grounds where my hotel is being built."

"You guys can do without me, just for a little while, can't you?" she asked, mostly aiming this question to both Syaoran and Eriol. She knew that before the whole parking lot debacle, they were supposed to begin research on the issue they'd been putting off for forever. But she wasn't asking them to continue delaying the investigation – she was simply hoping that they could start without her so she could go out for an hour or two with Kaito, to make up for being such a terrible fiancée.

"Sure we can," Eriol answered, when the rest of her friends did nothing but stare in Syaoran's direction. "We won't be doing much here."

And then, suddenly, Syaoran suggested, "So why don't we all go?"

Meiling lifted her eyes to stare at him in surprise. "All of us? Go?"

"Yes," Syaoran answered, standing and making his way over to the coat rack. "Let's all go."

"But…" Tomoyo began in confusion, looking between all her friends to see if she was the only one that was taken aback by the new plan, "Li-kun, I thought we were supposed to start—"

"It can wait," he said abruptly, giving the two girls who still sat a summoning sort of look, to which they responded with immediate action. Eriol followed suit and grabbed his coat, none of them bothering to wait for Kaito to say that he was okay with them coming along. It was Tomoyo who at least had the decency to check if it was all right with him – although by the time she asked they had all already put on their coats.

"You don't mind; do you, Yoshida-kun?"

Although he looked rather startled by Syaoran's suggestion, he didn't appear perturbed at all. In fact, it looked as though as long as Sakura accompanied him on this outing, he couldn't have cared if they told him their entire graduating class was also coming along.

"No, not at all! I'd love to show all of you where the new Yoshida Tower will be put, anyway. I was due to check how the construction men were faring, so this visit can serve two purposes. I can give you all an exclusive tour!"

"Sounds like fun," said Sakura, both her arms hugging Kaito around the waist as they were the first to walk out the door. "Kaito-kun and I will go ahead in the first car, and you can follow behind, Eriol-kun. Would you mind very much if he drove your car? I promise he has a very steady hand."

Syaoran felt like retching.

"Not at all," said Eriol, tossing him the keys in a fluid pass across the foyer. "Show the way, Yoshida-kun."

They walked out together into the still hot, sunny weather; with the exception of Tomoyo who had run up to Sakura's room to assure Kero would be okay by himself. However, they all knew with Eriol's well-stocked refrigerator and pantries, his big screen TV and gaming system, that he would be perfectly all right on his own.

Having been settled in the car, Kaito and Sakura took off down the drive way and onto the road ahead of them, waiting patiently at the stop sign for their friends to catch up.

In the other car with Eriol driving and Syaoran sitting shotgun with the girls in the back, the air was tense. No one spoke, and while Syaoran glared at the car just a few feet ahead of them, the rest of the occupants stared at him in caution and worry. If they spoke, would he snap at them?

Meiling decided to test the waters. "Syaoran, I thought you wanted to get to work right away, after our lunch at the restaurant?"

"What," he muttered darkly, his eyes never leaving the car before them, "the rest of you can put it off but I can't?"

They all seemed to bite their lips in unison. He didn't snap – but he certainly didn't respond kindly, either.

"Syaoran," Eriol started, "maybe we should have let them go by themselves. We didn't have to go with them – there's still time to turn the car around. I could call Sakura-san on her phone and tell them we changed our minds."

Syaoran turned slowly to look first at Eriol, and then the rear-view mirror so the girls could see his face as he spoke. "It is obvious that even after what almost happened upstairs in her room – she still chose Yoshida. I know I've already said this, but – after this trip, she's going to get married and she will forget all about me. These next few days will be the last ones I spend with her – probably for another ten years."

His friends exchanged sad stares. He had in fact said almost those very same words to Eriol and Tomoyo, just the other day. And they knew the first time they'd heard those words, just as they knew it at that moment in the car with him, that Syaoran was right.

"I know I try to avoid her sometimes… but this time around, I'm going to try and be there as much as I can before… before leaving her – again."

They lapsed into a pensive silence after his sincere and truthful comment on his current situation. Finally Eriol clapped him once the shoulder, gripping his shoulder tightly.

"Fair enough, Syaoran."

"Yeah," chimed Tomoyo, trying to sound happy for his sake. "Whatever you want, Li-kun."

It was clear they had reached a conclusion for the issue at hand – and, they all just assumed that when they came back from this outing with Kaito and Sakura, that they would _finally_ begin a more extensive look into Clow's background.

When at last Kaito parked the car on the side of the road where there was an empty lot, only a short drive had passed. Eriol did the same and parked just behind them. They all emerged from the cars and got into a group, Kaito and Sakura leading the pack with their hands still joined.

The empty lot, it appeared, was not as empty as it had first appeared. As they approached the grounds, the huge, gaping hole that was as wide as a football field was easier to spot. Down below and even all around the edge of the hole were construction men in hard hats with drills, and others operating bulldozers, backhoe loaders and other heavy machineries.

The noise was loud and almost impossible to talk over, but it was easy for all of them to shout.

"I know it's not much right now," yelled Kaito over the massive sound, "but we literally only began construction a month ago – right now, they're starting with the underground spa and parking lot."

"I'm sure it'll turn out great," shouted Tomoyo, her hands over her ears and a slight grimace on her face.

Suddenly, a man walked over to them, a clipboard in hand and gesturing wildly. He was in construction uniform, so obviously he was with the other workers. With one hand over his ear and the other waving at them, he bellowed, "You people can't be here right now!" he told them in Cantonese, "Can't you see, this is a construction zone!"

"Ah, yes!" Kaito said, apparently able to understand and respond in the other language. He spoke equally as loud, but not in anger, saying "A construction zone it is, indeed! My name is Yoshida Kaito – are you Kenta-san?"

The man who spoke to them removed his hard hat in respect and bowed to Kaito. "Yoshida-sama – do forgive me, I didn't realize it was you. I recognize your voice now from our phone conversations." He had switched to Japanese for Kaito's convenience, though just by hearing the hotel owner's surprisingly fluent Cantonese, it was clear he didn't have to.

Kaito laughed and shook the man's hand, straightening him as he did so. "No need to apologize, Kenta-san. This _is_ our first meeting, and we've only spoken over conference calls, after all. Tell me, how has everyone been faring? Hopefully the hot weather here hasn't been affecting you all too much?"

"Not at all, not at all, Yoshida-sama," said the man named Kenta. "We are making great progress. We should be done by the deadline you gave us. Would you like a walk-through of all the projects we've begun since four weeks ago?"

"Absolutely," he answered enthusiastically, joining the man but stretching out his arm so he wasn't quite yet separated from Sakura yet. "Sweetheart," he said to her first, then addressed the rest of the group, "this should only take a short while. I'll make him go through it quickly. Why don't the rest of you explore, in the mean time? I'll be able to find you."

"Sure," they agreed without hesitation, walking off on their own to view what other work was being done to the land.

Sakura watched Kaito retreat from their group, waiting until they were more or less alone before doing anything. As soon as she was sure that he wouldn't be looking back at them, she spun on her heel and looked searchingly into her surroundings, as if she were sniffing out a specific scent. Eriol and Syaoran appeared to be doing the same thing, an intense, focused expression upon all three of their faces.

Kaito didn't know it, and neither did Tomoyo or Meiling for that matter, but the moment they set foot on the lot, a strange feeling had come over all three of them. If Kero were with them, he certainly would've felt the sensation as well.

Without having to voice it to one another, they began their search. Hurriedly they walked in the direction where they felt the aura or whatever it was the strongest, and did not stop to allow the other two girls to catch up, for fear that if they slowed down, they'd lose the sensation. Tomoyo and Meiling jogged after their three friends, wondering what on earth had compelled them to walk in such a hurry in a completely random direction.

"Guys," panted Meiling, who was not suited for such an activity in her three-inch high heels, "where are we going?"

"Yeah," wondered Tomoyo, more tired than the others. She never was the really athletic type. "What is going on?"

Sakura's eyes were focused and determined, and it brought Syaoran back to the days when they were capturing and transforming cards together. But the happy memory didn't keep him so happy for much longer – the farther they walked, the thicker the sensation became.

"It's getting stronger," Sakura gasped as the aura gripped at her body, making every last movement that she made heavier and slower. It was apparently doing the same for the boys, who were also becoming just as sluggish.

"We can't… stop," breathed Syaoran, as he took longer strides to get to the core of the sensation. They had gotten deeper into the construction site, losing sight of the workers and Kaito as well. "We're almost… there…"

They had practically run the circumference of the hole and were led practically to the other end, while everyone else was either down below in the center, or on the other side of it. When they had finally seemed to reach the point of origin, where the aura pulsed and throbbed deep vibrations for only magical beings to feel, they stopped to catch their breath.

"What is this place?" Sakura asked, half in fear and half in wonder. There was a short flight of steps to the side, which Syaoran descended first, to make sure the area was safe. The particular area of the site that they were in was untouched, other than the fact that it had obviously been bulldozed. The construction workers were only working on the other end – which they were grateful for, because this magical ground was not somewhere they needed them to be around.

When Eriol and Syaoran had helped the girls down, they spotted a layer of bricks, laid out in a wide circle. They approached it slowly and leaned in to peer inside. They realized then that it wasn't just a circle; it was a well – a well that they could not see the bottom of, because it was far too dark inside to make out anything.

"It's coming from in here," said Eriol, coming closer to it. "The aura is so powerful I swear I could faint…"

"You're telling me," agreed Sakura, who did not look at all well. Her eyes were drooping and she was swaying slightly from force of the sensation. Though Syaoran didn't feel so great either, he immediately went to her and supported her, coming from her right side and steadying her by placing his palm on the small of her back.

"Breathe," he instructed her. "Just breathe, Sakura... don't close your eyes."

The colour around Eriol's cheeks was beginning to match the shade of his blue hair. He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Syaoran, whatever is down here, it's weighing heavily on us. We have to find out what's in that well… damn it, if only Keroberos was here with us. Maybe he would be able to fly down."

"I can fly down," offered Sakura, though she was obviously not in any kind of state to be walking, let alone _flying_. "Let me summon the Fly Card… no one's looking – I could—"

"_No_," protested Syaoran as the power of the aura weakened him as well. "You will do no such thing."

Tomoyo and Meiling looked between each other helplessly. Going to Eriol and imitating Syaoran's actions by taking Eriol's arm and supporting half of his weight, Tomoyo suggested in a scared voice, "We should go. We have to re-visit this later. One magical issue at a time, you guys!"

"She's right," Meiling said, leading the way back up the stairs, away from the well. "We have to leave – and quickly, before Yoshida-kun—"

"Sakura?" they heard from above. Kaito was looking down on them, the confusion evident in his voice and in his face as he stared overhead. "When I said to explore, I didn't think you guys would travel this far," he joked, bounding down the steps with no problem at all and smiling at them – until he realized the strange, sick look that Eriol, Syaoran and Sakura had in their faces and bodies.

"Kaito-kun…" Sakura moaned, looking like her legs would give at any moment.

"Oh my God – Sakura," he said, alarmed. He approached her swiftly and noticed how Syaoran was holding her so protectively. Giving him an expressionless stare, he took his fiancé from him and held her in his own capable arms. Anyway, he was better able to keep her upright. Syaoran looked just as bad as the other two and he had to worry about keeping _himself_ straight before he could worry over Sakura.

"We should go," Meiling said again, trying to distract Kaito from the bizarre sight before him.

"What's the matter?" Kaito asked Sakura, completely unaware of the others around him. The only thing he was conscious of at the moment was the fact that his fiancée looked terribly ill, and her legs were frighteningly weak. "Sakura – sweetheart, what happened? Sweetheart, don't close your eyes…"

"We have to get her out of here," Syaoran grated, trying to maintain composure so he could be sure of Sakura's safety.

"I know that," said Kaito, irritated by his stating of the obvious, and – well, the events of earlier that day. They looked at one another stormily for a moment before Kaito picked Sakura up in his arms, not waiting another moment to get her back into the car. Thankfully the others present at the construction site didn't think too much of such a strange sight. For all they knew, Sakura was just asleep in his arms, and the two men walking with them were just too lazy to walk any faster.

By the time they got back to the cars, Sakura was not looking any better. Eriol and Syaoran were somewhat recovered, but Sakura was still deeply affected, though they were much, much farther from the well.

"I have to get her to a hospital," Kaito said, panicked and taking off his coat to cover her with. Tiny beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead. "Daidouji-san – will you ride with us?"

"I will," said Syaoran.

Kaito turned to him, not looking pleased with the suggestion. "I asked Daidouji-san."

"And whether she is going with you or not, I am still coming with you to the hospital."

"She doesn't need a hospital," Eriol interjected, coming between the two men before they could start an argument at the most inappropriate time. "She needs to come back to the house with all of us."

"No," protested Kaito, his face astonished by such a foolish suggestion, "can't you see she's ill? We need a doctor to—"

"_Trust_ me," Eriol implored. "It's not a doctor she needs. She will be treated much better back at my house."

Kaito stared at him for quite a while before looking at the faces of Tomoyo, Meiling, and lastly Syaoran. They all seemed to agree with Eriol's words – and he certainly trusted him more than he did Syaoran at the moment. So with a swift nod, he got into the driver's seat. Syaoran joined Sakura in the back and Meiling went to the other car so as to drive Tomoyo, who cared for Eriol in the back.

It was a tense car ride back to the house. Syaoran and Kaito did not speak once to each other. They both said encouraging words to Sakura, however, who must have been hallucinating. They could hear her saying inaudible things, murmuring strange, imperceptible words that made no sense whatsoever. Anyway, it didn't matter what issues Syaoran had with Kaito, or vice versa. The only thing that mattered to the both of them at the moment was making sure that Sakura was all right.

Finally they entered the driveway. Kaito parked as close as he could to the door to ensure that the distance between the car and a warm bed was as short as it could be. Syaoran watched as he carried her out of the car and into the house with the key Eriol had given him before they left the construction site. He had never felt more useless in his whole entire life.

He bounded in after them, following hot on Kaito's heels as he practically moved at warp speed to get to her guest bedroom. He laid her down gently on the bed and moved her bangs from her forehead, looking down at her with incredibly worried and panicked eyes. Syaoran stood off to the side, unsure of how he could do the same as Kaito without imposing, or intruding.

After a short while, Eriol and Tomoyo stepped inside and Eriol looked to be feeling much better – as did Syaoran. Taking Kaito by the shoulders, Eriol said to him, "Yoshida-kun, you can trust me. I promise you, you can. But you have to leave the room."

"What?" he asked disbelievingly. "_Why_?"

"Just trust me, all right? I am highly educated in medicine. I'll know what treatment she needs."

"I don't _care_," Kaito nearly screamed. "Listen, Hiiragizawa-kun, you're a good guy – but you aren't making any sense to me. I can't just leave my fiancée when she's—"

"Yoshida-kun," interjected Meiling, "you would be wise to listen to Eriol-kun. He'll take good care of Sakura-san. Please – trust us."

He looked helplessly around the room, again taking the time to look at everyone to see their opinion on the situation. He first glanced at Eriol, then Tomoyo, to Meiling, to Syaoran, who was leaning against a wall, looking extremely pained. And not because he was feeling ill anymore.

"Fine," he said, sounding so resigned it was a surprise to them all. "_Take care of her_."

Although he was under the impression that it was Eriol that would be taking care of her, he had addressed the instruction to Syaoran.

Meiling took his arm and hurried him out of the room to keep him company elsewhere. Finally Syaoran was free to approach Sakura and show all the concern he had for her, without having to worry about Kaito's reaction. He brushed her bangs aside once more from her forehead and cupped the side of her face.

"Sakura," he said, his voice a strangled, dry croak, "can you hear me? Are you all right?"

She moaned incoherently and trembled slightly.

"Kero-chan!" cried Tomoyo, "Come out now!"

The tiny yellow beast zoomed out of his hiding place behind a cushion and flew to Sakura's side, feeling her forehead and looking worried.

"Keroberos," Syaoran panted, "we don't – we don't know what happened… Hiiragizawa and I – we were with Sakura and we just – the power from the well—"

"I know," he answered solemnly, appearing to be in a deep, meditative mood. "Tomoyo called ahead and explained what happened. I don't know what it could've been, kid, I'm just as lost as the rest of you… but, what's troubling me is why she's still ill, when you and Hiiragizawa are almost all better?"

"I don't know," he moaned, holding her hand and squeezing. "I don't know… Keroberos, what should we do? We have to make her better!"

"Relax, kid," sighed Kero, looking none too happy about the situation, either. "There isn't anything we can do but wait. This is a magical fever. Whatever it was in that well… it found her and stuck to her, more than it stuck to you or Hiiragizawa. The only thing that can cure a fever like this one is a significant distance between the cause – the cause, being the well."

"Are we far enough?" he asked, ready to book a flight in the next hour if she needed to be even farther away from the well.

"Yes, you're far enough," Kero answered him as Eriol and Tomoyo listened on. "The fever is already starting to fall away – can't you see?"

Her trembling was much less now, and she wasn't mumbling disjointed words. The sweat was almost disappeared from her forehead as well. But none of these signs were enough to assure Syaoran that she was all right. Not until she was sitting up in bed, giggling and "hoe"-ing would he be fully convinced that she was okay.

As if reading his mind, Kero said, "Don't worry, kid. She'll be back to normal before the end of the night."

This seemed to relieve him somewhat. He relaxed his shoulders but still held ever tightly onto her hand, unsure if he could find it in himself to let go. He put their joint hands to his forehead and closed his eyes, praying and hoping that she would return to normal sooner rather than later.

With his eyes still closed, Syaoran asked, "And Hiiragizawa?" he asked, "Will he be all right?"

"Yes," said Tomoyo, sounding just as curious but more worried, "will he be okay? He said back at the well that he could have fainted…"

"Eriol is strong," Kero assured her, flying over to her and patting her head. "He looks perfectly fine to me."

Tomoyo seemed to release a bundle of pent-up anxiety through a single, shaky breath. "Thank goodness," she sighed.

"And Syaoran?" Eriol asked, after sharing an affectionate glance with Tomoyo. "Will he be all right?"

"I'm fine," he grunted, already forgetting the fact that he was sick as well. He was given a skeptical look by all three of his companions, for they were sure that he was putting aside his own well-being so they'd all be able to focus on Sakura. "Really," he insisted, truthfully feeling a whole lot better than when he was at the construction site.

They seemed to believe him after taking a closer look into his face. The colour had already returned to his cheeks and he wasn't shaking or sweating – certainly a good sign.

"What should we tell Yoshida-kun?" Tomoyo asked nervously.

"I'll think of something," volunteered Eriol, standing quickly and walking over to the door. "I'll go keep him some company downstairs with Meiling."

"But he thinks you're taking care of Sakura," Syaoran reminded him.

Eriol gave him a quick glance. "I think he knows I'm not the person that is caring for her."

"I'm staying with Sakura-chan," said Tomoyo chimed, taking a seat on the window sill and leaning her head against the glass. "I can't go downstairs and lie to Yoshida-kun anymore. I'm exhausted."

Syaoran bit his lip. There were some secrets that Tomoyo was more than happy to keep for Sakura – like the fact that she was a mistress to a magical deck of cards, and that she is still, after all these years, terrified of ghosts. But the secret she was keeping from Kaito about Syaoran – that one was definitely not something she enjoyed keeping to herself. It complicated things – not just for her, but for everybody.

"I think we're all exhausted," Syaoran said, pulling up a chair and placing it next to Sakura's bed. Before sitting he turned to Eriol, asking, "If you'd rather not go down there and – I don't know, wait until you're feeling less… less…"

"I'm fine, same as you," Eriol promised. "Besides, someone's got to give Yoshida an excuse."

Syaoran felt terribly at fault, although he couldn't possibly be the one to blame for the three of them getting sick. It just seemed as though, had Kaito not walked in on him and Sakura earlier as they were about to kiss, the whole situation would feel less tense and complicated.

"I could tell him, you know," Syaoran suggested, still wanting to make things right for himself, instead of having his friends to do it.

"Do you really think that's best?" Eriol answered. He put his hand on the knob and opened the door, stepping out but stopping before he was completely out of the room. "Anyway, I know you'd rather be up here with Sakura-san."

Syaoran dropped his eyes to Sakura's sleeping body. "Thanks."

Eriol gave him a small, understanding, sympathetic smile and exited.

The door shut, sealing them all inside the suddenly stuffy room. Syaoran looked about him somewhat nervously, feeling as though Kero and Tomoyo were passing judgement on him. But they were not. Tomoyo was still staring out the window, looking as though she had a lot of things on her mind, and Kero was sitting with his eyes closed on the table across the room, looking just as pensive.

"Daidouji?" he asked softly, after pausing a moment to think of the words he wanted to say. She moved her forehead from the window and stared at him, a mixture of exhaustion and sadness in her eyes. "Is this… all of this, my fault?"

Her expression grew cloudy with confusion. "No, Li-kun. Of course not."

"Then… why does it feel like it is?"

Tomoyo stood and crossed the room, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Li-kun, none of this is your fault. You're the reason that Sakura was even able to get back to the house in one piece. If you didn't suggest that we all go to the construction site together, Sakura-chan would've been there all alone with Yoshida-kun, ready to collapse, and he wouldn't know what to do or who to tell. You're the reason we were all there and able to help out."

"Yeah, but…" he reluctantly agreed, feeling only somewhat comforted by her words. "Doesn't this feel like a mess to you? Now, suddenly, we're dealing with two magical issues, I had to go and complicate things for Sakura when we almost kiss, and to add to all of that, I've had all of you lying to Yoshida."

"Li-kun, stop it," Tomoyo said strictly, before he spiralled into a tangent. "There are now two magical forces messing with the three of you – again, that isn't your fault. And… yeah, I guess the whole history between you and Sakura-chan messes all of this up even more, but… hey, what can we do? We all know that it's not our place to let him know about you two. That's up to Sakura-chan – if she decides she wants to let him know."

"Would things be better if… if she told him the truth?"

Tomoyo sighed. "I don't know."

Syaoran turned back to Sakura, unable to keep the worry and anxiety from his eyes. No indeed, neither he or Tomoyo were sure if telling Kaito the truth would be best – and he was positive that Eriol, Meiling, and even Kero would have given him the same answer. But there was simply no denying that it was what needed to be done.

_**xxxxxx**_

A dark shadow fell upon Eriol's estate. Night had fallen some hours ago but Syaoran had not yet moved from his seat next to Sakura's bed, nor had Kaito been up to see her. Nothing had been done to resolve either magical issue that they faced. No research had been done on the spirit trying to contact Clow, nor could Kero think of what could have possibly caused their magical fevers. It had proven to be a terribly unproductive day.

Asleep in his chair with his head on Sakura's bed, Syaoran woke feeling terribly groggy. He hadn't showered, or moved into a comfortable position since lying his head down on the bed for just a short nap – a nap that had turned into a few hours.

When he raised his head to check his watch for the time, he noticed with some surprise that Sakura was sitting up in bed, staring at him with a small smile. He straightened up quickly, stretching and blinking to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hi," she said, looking concerned. "Have you been here the whole time?"

He nodded slowly at her. "I – I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Well, I am," she said, and it definitely sounded like it. Her voice was firm, her skin was only its usual pale instead of extremely pale, and it was obvious that she was strong enough to get into a sitting position. He was finally able to stop worrying.

"Long day, huh?" she asked with an ironic smile on her face. Had it really only been a day? All that had happened to them since arriving in China could fit the span of one week – but the events of the day had crashed down upon all of them, one after the other. First, running into Jia, nearly kissing Sakura, getting visited by Kaito and sensing yet another magical force? One per day would have suited Syaoran just fine.

"Yeah," he winced, as he thought of all that had happened. "Long day… um, where did Daidouji and Keroberos go?" he asked.

"Tomoyo-chan went down to eat dinner almost an hour ago. She and Kero-chan left after I woke up. After he saw that I was better, he wanted to get something to eat, too. We didn't want to wake you."

"Oh," he said, surprised that he slept so heavily that he didn't even stir when Sakura woke up, or when they'd had those conversations about leaving for dinner. "You're not hungry?"

"No, not really," she said. "But Tomoyo-chan said she would bring us something up after she snuck something in to Kero-chan, but I told her she could finish her dinner first before bringing something to us. She looked like she was starved."

He didn't respond with words, only nodded his head once more to show that he understood.

They were silent for another short while before Sakura asked, "What happened at the well, Syaoran-kun? Why did we get so sick?"

"I don't know, Sakura," he sighed, his head buzzing with a headache at the thought of the well and because of the long nap he took. "Keroberos doesn't know either, and if he doesn't know, I doubt Yue-san would."

"This is a mess," she groaned, reminding Syaoran of the conversation he had with Tomoyo right before he fell asleep. He pressed his lips into a thin line before giving in to the desire to chew on them again. He looked away and inhaled slowly, trying to gather enough nerve to bring up what he really wanted to talk to her about.

Noticing his suddenly uneasy behavior, Sakura's head tilted in wonder. "What's the matter?" she asked. He didn't answer right away, which only made _her_ feel uneasy. "Syaoran-kun," she prompted. "What is it?"

He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Listen, Sakura… I – I've been thinking. We've been keeping a really big secret from Yoshida – a secret that any fiancé should know about, especially if it concerned his soon-to-be wife and an old boyfriend…"

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura interrupted, the moment she caught wind of where the conversation was going. "Are you… suggesting that I tell him about – us – before?"

He looked at her earnestly. She would know his answer to that just by the look in his serious amber eyes.

Her own eyes narrowed in confusion as she tried to process his suggestion through her head. She swallowed the sudden knot that appeared in her throat and asked softly, "And… how long have you been thinking about this?"

"Not long," he admitted somewhat reluctantly. She would think he hadn't really given it much thought, when really the topic didn't need too much consideration. He knew it, she knew it – the whole world probably knew it, too: Yoshida needed to be told the truth.

Sakura did not speak, as if carefully choosing what she would say next. Her narrowed eyes lost their hard expression as she looked down at her hands. "I've thought about telling him the truth too, Syaoran-kun. Really, I have. Maybe I should've done it sooner… but to tell him about us – from before – _now_? After what we – what we almost… what he almost saw," she uneasily rephrased, swallowing again to create moisture in her dry mouth. "It would look really, really bad, Syaoran-kun. Kaito-kun would be _so_ hurt."

"I know that a lot of people stand to get hurt if you tell him the truth," Syaoran said empathetically, though there was no hiding from the heat in her words and now, her gaze, as she looked up at him. "I'm not even sure if it's the right thing to do, but it just isn't fair that we—"

"You want to talk about fair now?" she asked almost incredulously, her voice still soft but sounding more emotional. "Do you know what would happen if I told him about our past? My engagement would be completely ruined!"

Syaoran's lips were squished once more into a tight line. The idea that he might call off his engagement to Sakura was actually only a fifty/fifty chance. Sakura, of course, would only think of the worst case scenario in the event that she told him the truth – but she was she blind? Kaito was terribly, indubitably and undoubtedly in love with her. He had forgiven her everything she had ever done – perhaps he would forgive her for this as well. Maybe not so quickly, but still, maybe he would.

In his train of thought, he hadn't noticed Sakura's eyes go from soft, to narrowed yet again. The way she was looking at him didn't seem accusatory, but when he realized that she was staring at him, he found that her emerald eyes seemed sceptical… hurt, almost.

"Is that… is that what you want?" she asked, whisper-soft.

"What?" he asked in return, confused.

"For my engagement to be ruined – is that why you want me to tell him? Because you don't want me to be his fiancée anymore?"

The thought had never even crossed his mind. It was true – he had wanted the engagement to be called off ever since he learned of it – but not in this way. If ever their engagement was to be canceled, he had wanted it to be because Sakura would somehow fall back in love with him, not because of Kaito learning the truth about her first love.

"No," he told her, sounding upset. Though she had not accused him of that as an ulterior motive, he still could not help but to feel hurt that she might suspect him of doing so. "That's not why I want you to tell him at all. I've already told you. It isn't fair that he doesn't know. How would you feel, if he kept something like this from _you_?"

Sakura could feel the insult in his voice. She sighed – he had a more than valid point, and she knew she was wrong to even think that he'd make her tell him so that the engagement would be ruined. "Hoe… I'm – I'm sorry, Syaoran-kun."

He didn't answer her. He still felt incredibly slighted.

Syaoran had leaned back in his chair and was looking the other way, in the opposite direction. His intentions for wanting Kaito to know the truth were completely pure – and the fact that Sakura believed otherwise was both upsetting and confusing. Why would she think that her canceled engagement be something that he wanted? Did she know? Did she fight through her denseness and come to the realization that the kiss they'd almost shared wasn't just a silly fluke – did she realize that Syaoran did in fact still love her?

Syaoran had no time to ask her any of these things – mostly because he didn't have enough courage to ask or even know how to bring it up – but also because Sakura had once more continued to speak.

"Syaoran-kun, I – I know now that you're only trying to be fair to Kaito-kun. But… I still don't think that I should tell him about—"

"About what?" Kaito asked.

Sakura sat up straighter in bed, her knees lifting as though she were about to rise from the mattress. Syaoran flinched at his voice, surprised that they were once more caught off guard and interrupted by her fiancé in yet another serious moment. He certainly had a knack for appearing when people were just talking about him that day.

When they looked at him, Kaito was still dressed in the clothes that he first came to China with, a tray of food in his left hand. From behind him the door was swinging slightly, after he opened it strongly, but still gently enough to not make a noise. Apparently he had not bothered with a knock.

"Kaito-kun," Sakura breathed, "You – you startled me."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, staring at his fiancée sincerely. His gaze then found Syaoran, and he couldn't help but to look between the two of them, confused – but not quite accusatorily.

None of them spoke for a brief pause that somehow felt to them like a year or two. Syaoran knew that making a quick exit was the best option for him, but how could he do so without being obvious? Subtlety simply wasn't in his deck of cards at the moment.

Finally, Kaito spoke again – but not with the words that Sakura was hoping for. "What did you not want to tell me, Sakura?" His voice was curious and somewhat worried, as though whatever it was something had something to do with her health, or her well-being – not anything that would be about him or _his_ feelings.

Her eyes shifted from him to Syaoran. Was there any escaping this? Yes, there was. But the only escape involved lying to her soon-to-be husband – and Sakura was exhausted from all the lying. Maybe the Fates, or the universe, or divine forces had put her in this position for a reason – perhaps it really was time that she came clean.

"Kaito-kun, why don't you sit down?" she asked, her voice still soft as a feather, but nervous this time.

Syaoran waited only a heartbeat to stand from the chair he was still seated in. "Here," he offered, moving quickly. By the looks of it, it was literally the moment of truth – and it was probably best if he wasn't around for it. "You can have my seat."

Kaito put a firm hand on his shoulder, before Syaoran could take another step closer to the door. "No," he insisted, his voice tight. "Why don't you stay? Stay, while Sakura tells me whatever it is that she wants to know."

Sakura looked absolutely panicked. Why on earth would Kaito ask him to stay? The conversation she wanted to have with him was certainly not one that needed an audience – especially not in the form of Syaoran!

"No, really," Syaoran said, "I'll go. You two can talk."

"_Stay_," Kaito all but demanded, his face now tight, just like his voice.

Another moment passed when none of them knew what to say. Was there really any point to protesting anymore? For some reason, Syaoran was told to stay – not asked, but _told_. Not even Sakura could contest the finality in Kaito's voice.

They were interrupted by a more cheerful voice – that of Tomoyo's as she bounded down the hallway, her chirpy self already talking at the speed of light before she got her foot through the door.

"Li-kun! Sorry to keep you waiting, we're re-heating your dinner! Kaito-kun should have already brought up Sakura-chan's—"

She stopped short as soon as she felt the exceedingly distraught tension in the room. She blinked her amethyst eyes slowly, wanting nothing more than to make a backwards exit, out of the room. What on earth had she just walked in on?

"Is – is everything all right?" she asked, concerned. Everyone looked as though they'd just been run over by the emotion truck.

No one answered her – in fact, her question went completely ignored as Kaito pressed, "Tell me, Sakura. What do you want me to know?" The tray of food wasn't in his possession anymore. Without anyone noticing, he had put it on a table, and his arms were now at his sides, hanging like dead weights.

More silence followed. Syaoran and Tomoyo wanted more than anything to desert the guest bedroom that they would forever remember as the Truth and Tension Room, but both of them seemed to be frozen. Syaoran couldn't possibly leave after being told to stay in such a manner – and Tomoyo just couldn't find it in her legs to move.

"It's about him, isn't it?" Kaito seethed, as he bore down on Sakura. No one needed to ask who this "him" was that he was referring to. "Tell me I'm wrong, Sakura. You want me to tell me something about you and him. Don't you?"

Sakura looked ready to cry. All she had to do was let out a wail and she would be full out bawling – but she did her best to keep her eyes dry. They were wet, no doubt, but this was a conversation she needed to have without the theatrics. She needed to stay calm and rational – for both her sake and everyone else's.

"Kaito-kun, please listen to me," she implored, crawling out from under the blankets and reaching out to him beseechingly. "You have to understand – we never—"

"You've been cheating on me," he accused, his voice so wounded it hurt everyone else in the room to hear it. "You've been cheating on me, haven't you?" It was almost as though there was no question about it. He seemed so sure of it that there was almost no convincing him of otherwise.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed immediately, shaking her head at him. And for the most part, she was telling the truth. She hadn't done anything with Syaoran – physically. "I haven't done anything with him! Nothing! What you walked in on this afternoon – we didn't do it, we haven't done that in ten years!"

Kaito stopped, his grey eyes confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura took in a deep breath as she readied herself for what she hoped would be the best explanation in her life.

"Ten years ago – when we were just teenagers – _kids_… Syaoran-kun and I, we – we were… we used to be…"

Like before, she couldn't find it in herself to finish the sentence. Why couldn't she just say that she and Syaoran weren't together anymore?

"We used to date," Syaoran explained for her, as he had gotten used to doing whenever they got into this sort of mix up. He wanted to smack himself over the head with a mallot – saying that they "used to date" sounded so ridiculously juvenile. They were all nearly in their thirties! But how else could he explain such a thing to Kaito? To really say that they had been seriously dating and considering marriage at eighteen would only make matters worse.

Kaito turned on him viciously; the confused stare was replaced with anger and mistrust. "You _used_to date," he ground out, matching Syaoran's height heatedly because he unfortunately could not tower over a man that was the same height as him. "For how long?"

The question was addressed to Syaoran. He sighed. "I – I don't know… a few years."

"Don't lie to me, you arrogant bastard!" Kaito yelled, causing Tomoyo to flinch. "You know exactly how long. Tell me – _how long_."

Syaoran glared at him. "Ever since we were twelve years old. Is that what you wanted to hear? That me and your fiancée were childhood sweethearts and then a serious couple up until we were eighteen years old? Who gives a damn how long we were together before? That was in the _past_. She's with you now and that's all that should matter to you."

Kaito turned on his heel and put his hands to either side of his head, as if not wanting to hear any excuses. The fact of the matter was that Sakura – and Eriol and Tomoyo, he suspected – had all lied to him about Sakura's first love. They had all lied to him about a man that he should have very well known about, which he simply did not deserve. Sakura had always known about his own past relationships, few as they might have been.

"I knew it," he fumed as he paced the room. "I _knew it_!" He then turned to Sakura, who had one hand over her mouth, as if she wanted to stifle the cries that she so desperately wanted to release. "Do you think so low of me, Sakura? Do you think I'm stupid enough to not see what's _right in front of me_? I always suspected that there might have been something between you two – but I pushed it aside, told myself that you would never, _ever_ lie to me about _anything_. That if there was anything going on, you loved me enough to let me know."

"And I do!" she cried, on the verge of completely losing it. "I do love you enough to tell you – that's why I'm telling you now!"

"Now!" he bellowed, sounding almost hysterical. "Now of all times! When you're on a so-called class reunion with your first love, after I walk in on you two about to kiss, after I overhear a conversation with _him_ persuading _you_ to tell me the truth!"

"I'm sorry," she apologized, though it came off as more of a plead than an apology. "I'm sorry, Kaito-kun. I'm awful, I know it. You're right – you're absolutely right, I had no—"

Eriol entered suddenly, with Meiling in tow. He looked about them all with a crease in his forehead. "Hey!" he said, in a voice that sounded as though he were reprimanding them. It was almost as if he knew exactly what they were fighting about and was preparing himself to break up a scuffle. "What on earth is going on up here? We heard yelling from downstairs—"

"I can't deal with this," Kaito said abruptly, dismissing Sakura's apology with a weak motion of his hand. "I can't even be in the same room with you – with any of you people."

He turned to walk out of the room, but something compelled Syaoran to try and make him stay – to try and make him understand. "Yoshida, wait."

"Get out of my way, Li." Everyone noticed how he had so conveniently dropped the "-kun" suffix that he usually accompanied his last name with.

"Yoshida, you have to listen to her. She _never_ wanted to hurt you. That's why she wanted to keep me from you!"

"Shut _up_!I don't have to listen to _anything_you have to say, you lying, cheating _bastard_!" Kaito roared, shoving him harshly and alarming Eriol enough to come between the two men. Obviously Kaito had run out of patience.

"Stay with her – talk to her!" Syaoran entreated, dodging Eriol and ignoring the fact that he had just been shoved. In a normal world, he would have been so angry that he would've dealt a shove right back, but in the topsy-turvy world he had just entered, he knew violence wouldn't work on Kaito – and apparently words wouldn't, either.

Kaito propelled him out of the way as he stormed towards the door in raging bull fashion. From behind him, crouching after almost having fallen over, Syaoran was also breathing hard, but only because he, too, had lost his patience.

"You're _pathetic_," he yelled after him. "Pathetic! You don't deserve her!"

Kaito stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around slowly and met Syaoran's heated glare with a possibly more potent one. And then, suddenly, he had him by the shoulder, and he was rearing his arm back to land a firm punch across Syaoran's face – which he was successful in doing.

Syaoran tumbled backwards at the force of the punch as the girls screamed at shock from the unexpected hit. Eriol was already holding Syaoran back in case he decided to retaliate, but there was really no need. Syaoran wasn't about to start a brawl with him where ladies were present, nor was he about to fight back when he knew full well that the hit was completely warranted.

Kaito gave him one last glare, only this time it seemed both sad and angry. He turned around one, final time and left the room at a slow, steady pace, knowing that no one would attempt to follow him – not even Sakura. But it was not before he left that he said scathingly to Syaoran, "Neither do _you_."

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** Well there you have it – the cookie has crumbled! The cat's out of the bag! The beans are spilt! And other phrases equivalent to "the truth is told"!

Sorry for taking so long to update. I am trying as hard as I can to finish this story, but that is getting more and more difficult to do. Work is getting busier and busier, school is starting next week, and I am also heading out of town for a couple of days. But never fear – this story _will_ be finished! Mark my words!

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter – if you have a little bit more time to spare, a tiny little review is very much appreciated!

Until next time, friends!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	12. Casting Shadows

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter twelve!

**Casting Shadows**

_Casting Shadows_

No one else seemed to have heard Kaito's scornful remark as he left them all in the suffocating air of Sakura's guest bedroom. Syaoran was still breathing heavily, more injured by the comment that Kaito had just made, than the punch he had landed on his face. He looked around him. Sakura was crying quietly with one hand still over her mouth, Meiling and Tomoyo were clearly still in shock. Eriol was giving him a sympathetic look.

"Are you okay?" Eriol asked quietly, as if to speak too loudly would make everybody even more uncomfortable.

Syaoran nodded and stood, running a quick hand over his mouth to see if any teeth were loose. Thankfully there were none, but he knew that Kaito was definitely holding back. Kaito's anger could've very well taken out at least one or two of Syaoran's teeth if not all of them, but he restrained himself to just leaving an overnight bruise Syaoran his face.

There was a sudden bang that echoed from the first floor, and they didn't have to wonder what it was for very long. It was obvious that Kaito had gathered his things and left the house – to go where, who knew?

"Why don't we…" Eriol suggested lamely, not knowing how else to fuse the tension. "Why don't we… go and… get some sleep?"

"Sleep," Tomoyo said, sounding as though Eriol had just struck gold right then and there in the bedroom, "sounds wonderful."

"I second that," Meiling concurred, though no one actually sounded tired. "I'll just say good night and get going… um, good night, Syaoran – Kinomoto-san." She nodded and exited quickly with Tomoyo, no doubt rushing to discuss with her what they had just witnessed, and to probably dish out all the details to Kero as well.

They didn't appear to have heard her goodbye. Realizing they wouldn't have heard him bid good night either, Eriol followed discreetly after the girls with one last backward glance in Syaoran's direction.

Syaoran didn't wait for the room to go quiet; it already was. If he waited any longer to speak with Sakura, the silence might have actually materialized and physically smothered the both of them with its arms of discomfort.

"Sakura," he started, ready to apologize for all he was worth.

"I think we should both be alone right now," she told him, moving her hand back down to her side and turning her back to him. She walked over to the window and stared out, perhaps hoping to see Kaito on his way out.

"Sakura… please, I—"

"Please," she almost begged. He didn't have to look at her to sense the waterfall of tears that she was just dying to release from her emerald eyes. "I really think we should both be on our own right now."

His mouth was left hanging, inside of it all the things he wanted to say to her but couldn't.

"Please," she said again, sounding desperate this time. "I need to be alone."

He gaped at her for a moment, fighting against the urge to continue speaking. And then, he left the room sullenly, as though he had just been punched in the face a dozen more times. He had to face it: solitude and a night spent alone by herself were the only things she needed at the moment – definitely not the presence of others, and especially not him.

Maybe tomorrow they would find the time to talk things out. Maybe tomorrow, they could get all of this additional drama out of the way and _finally_ get started on doing some real work on the issue that brought them to China in the first place. Maybe tomorrow, Sakura will have forgiven Syaoran for the mess he helped to create.

He chanted the words in his head like a soothing mantra as he strode across the hallway to his own bedroom to hopefully get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, _maybe tomorrow_…

_**xxxxxx**_

On his bed, Syaoran opened his eyes, wondering how it had gotten so dark. He had left the curtains open to allow some moonlight in, and yet it was pitch black inside his bedroom – a kind of pitch black darkness that felt suffocating – eerie, even.

He sat up, realizing he was not inside his bedroom. He wasn't even lying on his bed, like he thought he was. He wondered how he could've possibly mistaken the cold, hard ground for a comfy mattress – wherever he was, it was certainly not inside the luxurious guest bedroom of Eriol's summer home, but somewhere far more unpleasant.

He found himself sitting in the center of an incredibly large room, where four pillars stood, two across two others, so that if they were to be connected by beams, it would encase him in a square. He stood atop hard, sleek silver flooring, sort of like a platform also in the shape of a large square, which ended just before reaching the pillars. Above him there was a single window, the equal size and shape of the floor beneath him that looked out before a misty blue sky.

All around him, strange pieces of wood stuck out in all directions. It was as though a giant had planted them there but would not allow them to grow towards the ceiling anymore, so had cut them all at random heights, causing them to look strange and bent. He also noticed the stumps of other pillars that used to stand in the room. Perhaps that same giant had hastily knocked them down in a blind rage.

Because of the soft light that seeped in through the high window, the ground beneath him and his immediate surroundings were the only things that he could see. If he walked off the platform, he'd be heading straight for darkness.

"Where am I?" Syaoran asked to no one in particular. He was alone as could be – and yet there wasn't anything else he could do but to ask. If he were to start walking and go looking for his answers, the darkness would swallow him whole.

He inched forward a little, afraid to get too near to the blackness. What if something reached out and grabbed him?

"Hello," he called out. "Is anybody—?"

"_Who are you_?" he heard.

The voice nearly scared him out of his pajamas. It was so hoarse – so _accusatory_ – he felt as though he had done something to offend whoever it was that asked.

"I'm – my name is…" Syaoran stuttered, unsure if he should even reply. Was giving his identity to an unknown man in an unknown place really a good idea?

"_Leave this place_," the voice seethed, sounding incredibly angry. "_Leave this place – and bring me Clow_."

"C-Clow?" he stammered.

"_Bring him to me_," said the voice. And then, suddenly, a figure began to materialize near the ceiling. A man, dressed in traditional Chinese robes of black had his arms together, his hands clearly tucked within the opposite sleeve. His head was bowed down, his face hidden by a hood so that no matter how hard Syaoran tried to peer upwards into his eyes, all he could see was more darkness.

The man floated high above him, yet at the volume of his voice, he might as well have been standing right before him. From the sides of his robes curled two streams of black, similar to thick ribbons, which curled and moved as though they had minds of their own. They snaked downwards, closer and closer to Syaoran so that there was no doubt that they were headed straight for him. But he was too entranced to even attempt to move from his spot.

"_Clow_," the voice demanded, as the ribbons wound themselves around both of Syaoran's arms. "_Bring him to me… bring him to me… BRING HIM TO ME._"

The man said the words over and over again, getting angrier each time. And as he spoke, the blackness moved closer and closer to him, sure to swallow him like he feared and the voice switched from speaking to screaming. When at last it covered him completely, Syaoran found himself swimming through a dark pit, floating with no particular direction in mind. Somehow he broke through the thick darkness and found himself where he had thought he'd been in the first place: his bed.

He sat up in a cold sweat, the man's screams still ringing loudly in his hear. Raising both of his arms slightly, he could make out the shape of new bruises. Never had he had a dream as vivid as that one. But they had been getting realer and realer ever since he'd met with Sakura that night – perhaps they were doing something right. Perhaps they were getting closer, and the realness of the dreams was a good sign.

He did not have much time to think about it. It was not a moment after waking up did he realize that the screaming was not just in his ears – it was in the house. And it wasn't the man, that was for sure. The screaming that was coming from somewhere very near to him was too high pitched to be a man's – in fact, he recognized that screaming. He had heard it one too many times, capturing and transforming cards, and always felt like he was falling off a cliff every time he heard this particular scream.

"Sakura," he panted, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and ripping the blankets off of him. He padded to the door and swung it open, racing to get over to Sakura's bedside.

Also having heard the screaming, Eriol and Tomoyo appeared just behind him. Eriol had put on a robe and Tomoyo was still dressed in her blue nightgown. They were clearly very worried and panicked, just like him, but the look on his face probably showed them that his heart was sinking lower and lower with ever scream they heard.

Though it was not locked, Syaoran practically shoved the door open with his shoulder like there was a barricade on the other side. He plodded over to Sakura as she lay in bed, struggling with her covers as though she could not escape from them.

"Sakura!" he shouted, so as to be heard over her screaming. He took her by the shoulders and shook her slightly to wake her from the nightmare. "It's only a dream – it's just a dream!"

He and Eriol exchanged looks at this point – there was no need to ask. The three of them had all seen the same thing, and Syaoran would have bet his bottom dollar that Eriol was sporting two bruises as well.

"Let go… let go!" Sakura cried, and for some reason the three of them just knew that she wasn't speaking to Syaoran, but to the figure that had come to them all.

"Let go of me… please, let go of me… let _go_!" she continued to cry, thrusting her tiny fists against Syaoran's chest. Syaoran could only guess what was happening currently in her dream – the mysterious hooded figure must have still had her by his magical ribbons and would not let her escape.

She didn't stop screaming nor did she stop thrashing about in her sheets, no matter how hard Syaoran and Eriol restrained her arms. Finally Syaoran just took her in his arms and squeezed around her shoulders, praying that she would realize she was safe there, in his arms, no matter what was going on inside of her head.

After a few moments, her thrashing turned into trembling. Syaoran felt her give a large shudder as the dream came to an end, and soon she was sobbing into his shoulder. At the sound of her crying, Syaoran couldn't help but feel angry. They couldn't keep going to sleep, only to have terrible dreams and then wake up with bruises. He would feed her with caffeine for days if it meant that she wouldn't have to wake up like this, ever again.

"Keroberos," Syaoran grunted, as he cradled the crying Sakura back and forth on the bed. "Where is he?"

Tomoyo turned around to begin a search of the room, starting with the most obvious place. She opened a desk drawer and found him sleeping safe and sound, a few small cloths put inside to make it like his room back in Japan. Plucking him up by his wings, Tomoyo brought him over to the rest of the group. He was still sound asleep.

"Kero-chan," Tomoyo said impatiently. He did not stir. "Kero-chan!" she screamed, shaking him a little.

The brief shake roused him from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I said… never to wake me… unless there's food…"

"You sleep like a dead person!" Tomoyo screeched, livid that he was not there to soothe Sakura first, when he was the nearest to her. "Didn't you hear Sakura-chan screaming in her sleep?"

"What?" he asked, shaking himself completely from his slumber. "What happened to her? Is she all right?"

"Does she look all right to you?" Syaoran snapped, just as annoyed as Tomoyo, if not more so.

Kero zoomed up to her hear and murmured, "Sakura? Don't cry, Sakura. I'm sorry…" he patted her shoulder a few times to let her know that he was there for her.

"What the hell happened?" Kero asked when she did not stop weeping. Though it was considerably less loud, she was still sobbing into Syaoran's shoulder. But it wasn't exactly certain whether or not she knew it was Syaoran she was crying to. If the Tooth Fairy herself had put her arms around Sakura first, she probably would not have known the difference.

"We had another dream," Syaoran answered.

Kero ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Not again…"

"We did," said Eriol. "And I don't know about Syaoran's, but mine felt really… real. _Too_ real – and it's obvious that Sakura-san's dream was similar."

"Mine was pretty real," Syaoran offered. "What happened in yours?"

Eriol shrugged. "Standard dark, shadowy figure, asking for Clow. I tried to tell him it was me, that I was Clow's reincarnation, and that he should leave my friends alone. But it only made him angry because he thought I was lying, and the dream ended."

"Eriol," Tomoyo said, surprised and somewhat upset. "What if something happened to you? What if that shadowy figure thing believed you and went after you? You could've gotten hurt!"

He ran one hand along Tomoyo's shoulder and back, rubbing in soothing circles. "I would've been able to defend myself, Tomoyo. Don't worry yourself. Anyway, he didn't believe me. He just sent me away."

"He sent me away, too," Syaoran said. "He didn't recognize me as Clow's heir and the dream just ended."

Kero's forehead creased. "Well, it's obvious he's summoning you three – but if he didn't know who you were, he must not realize his magic is calling the three closest to Clow. But the question is, why? And worse, what if by some chance we get an audience with this guy, and he won't be able to accept the fact that Clow is no longer alive? Do you remember the last time we were here, kid?" he asked, looking in Syaoran's direction. "When that Madoushi lady found out Clow was dead? She went _crazy_."

"Wait," Sakura croaked.

The room went quiet as Syaoran slowly released Sakura from his hold. Her eyes were red and tired and her hair was in such a frazzled mess that Tomoyo was restraining herself from jumping into action and patting it down. She rubbed her eyes to dry them once and for all and sat up straighter on the bed, trying to look composed.

"What were you saying, Kero-chan?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter, Sakura," Kero told her as he flew up to the side of her face to pat her cheek. "Forget what I was saying. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were in trouble sooner. Why don't you go back to bed while the rest of us try to—"

"No," she protested, shaking her head. She sounded rather firm. "What were you saying about the last time we were here?"

He blinked and looked around him to see what the others thought of her odd request to repeat himself. "I – I was just talking about Madoushi. The lady that was in love with Clow and who was trapped in the water dimension."

Sakura didn't speak again. She had caught wind of something that Kero had said, that much was obvious – she was simply waiting for the others to come to their own realization. She didn't have to wait very long. A "heart beat" kind of moment passed, and suddenly Syaoran was up on his feet.

"Oh my God – Sakura," he started, his amber eyes revealing to everyone that the gears were turning in his head, "Madoushi – the water dimension – why didn't we realize this before?"

She stood and spoke slowly, obviously still recovering from her own dream, but determined to do her part in the problem solving. "The place we were taken to in all of our dreams – you wouldn't recognize it, Eriol-kun. But Syaoran-kun and I did. It was similar to the same place we were taken to as kids when Madoushi took us. Almost the exact same."

"That's right," Syaoran said, trying to stop himself from speaking too quickly. "Almost the _exact_ same! And come to think of it, the same thing happened to Sakura when Madoushi mistook her for Clow all those years ago. She had bruises on her arm from the ribbons that would wrap themselves around her. Even the well—"

Syaoran stopped, realizing his words.

Eriol blinked. "The well from yesterday afternoon?" he asked. "What about it?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Tomoyo. Even she remembered this part of their vacation from so long ago.

"There was a well that led Sakura-chan to Madoushi – like the well from Yoshida-kun's construction site. The well that had a strange aura coming from inside and made you all sick!"

Kero was nodding his head, growing more and more in understanding each time someone else offered a new piece of information. Whatever the equivalent of "bouncing on your toes" was for winged creatures, that would best describe Kero's attitude.

"Well that explains it!" he said, as though he was the one to have figured all of it out. "The spirit that has been trying to contact Clow is trapped inside another dimension like Madoushi was, and has the same abilities as Madoushi, which explains the dreams where he tried to contact the three of you, and your bruises, too!" he sighed, happy to get all of it out. "Boy, I'm a genius!"

Everyone ignored him. "That explains nothing," Syaoran started sounding only more frustrated, though they at least were starting to make some ground on the issue, "We haven't found out why this spirit is trying to contact us in the first place – and why is this happening? Now, of all times? It was practically out of the blue…"

They pondered in silence as they considered this question. It was a valid inquiry, but would any of them know how to answer it?

Apparently, one of them would.

"Do you remember the summer the Void Card ran loose over Tomoeda?" Eriol asked. They could all practically see the light bulb that went off in his head.

Sakura and Syaoran looked to their laps. Of course they remembered that summer – even Tomoyo did, and thank goodness she had the decency to look down in her lap, too.

Kero, who was oblivious to their reactions and who also probably didn't remember that summer for what it was – the summer that Sakura was finally able to tell Syaoran how she felt, and when they got together as a couple – asked in an impatient voice, "What about it?"

"Do you remember the reason it was activated?" he asked, trying to tap into their memories of all those years ago. "It was buried under my – well, Clow's – old house, and when they tore it down to create the amusement park, it woke the card."

In realization, Sakura offered to the group, "They bulldozed the old building on top of that well to start constructing Kaito-kun's new Tower…"

"And, when did you say construction started?" Eriol asked, though they all knew.

"A month ago," she whispered. "Which is about how long I've been having weird feelings of the past…"

"And how long I've been getting the bruises…" Syaoran said slowly.

"And how long _I've_ been having those vague dreams," Eriol said strongly.

Tomoyo rubbed her forehead, attempting to keep the coming headache at bay. "Okay, so, that answers part of it. The construction over the well disturbed the dormant spirit and woke it – that doesn't answer why he wants to speak with Clow in the first place."

Silence followed. Now that they knew the cause of the strange sensations, dreams and bruises, what else was left for them to do? They still had to find out why exactly the spirit wanted to see Clow so badly – and to do that would require paying him a visit. And though they all knew what step would follow, no voiced it. Suggesting they go straight to the source would mean getting in danger and possibly risking their lives – not to mention, it would put an end to their journey together if they were able to find a solution.

Sakura inhaled slowly. She looked up from her lap and finally said, "Well… we don't really have any other choice. What are we waiting for? Let's go to the well."

"But…" Tomoyo started, "it's in the middle of the night…"

"What better time of day to go to the well?" Eriol asked, "The construction workers will have left already. We'll have the place all to ourselves."

"Is that really such a good idea?" Syaoran wondered aloud. His voice was cautious, and perhaps Sakura's ears were playing tricks on here, but she could've sworn he sounded nervous as well. "Sakura, you just woke up with fresh bruises on your arm… you had a terrible dream. Maybe we should wait until you're strong enough to—"

"We've all got bruises," she argued, "but I'm still okay to fight – same as you and Eriol-kun. Anyway, we've fought with injuries worse than bruises… who knows; maybe we won't even have to fight? What if that spirit will understand when we tell him Clow is dead?"

Kero snorted. "Not likely…" He flew up and out of the bedroom, stopping at the door before going downstairs. "I'm going to grab something to eat before we leave. I have a feeling I'll need my strength!"

"I'll go call Meiling-san – hopefully she answers her phone…" Eriol told the rest of them, walking back to his own room to get his phone.

Tomoyo followed after him, jumping to her feet and sprinting to her guest room in a hurry. "And I'll grab the costumes I packed in my suitcase!"

Syaoran's face fell. "Costumes?" he said, a tone of incredulity in his voice. "Costumes at a time like this?"

Tomoyo looked at him as though _he_ were the one sounding crazy. "A time like this _requires_ costumes, Li-kun!"

She backed out of the room completely and left the door open because she couldn't be bothered in her great hurry to shut it closed. The sound of luggage unzipping and her rummaging around for the costumes could be heard. Closing his eyes to calm himself, Syaoran turned around away from the door and covered his face with his hands.

Apparently they had all decided to go to the well – how on earth had that happened? They'd never even agreed upon it out loud, yet somehow they all knew that with or without Syaoran's apprehension towards the whole situation, they were going.

"I guess we should get ready," Sakura said.

His eyes snapped open. He had almost forgotten that she was still with him in the room.

"Sakura," he began, now that he had a private moment with her and she wasn't asking him to leave like last time. "Are you sure you can do this? It's been years since we dealt with magical combat. Hiiragizawa and I train daily, so it doesn't matter that we still have bruises – but I know you don't train so often anymore. The bruises on your arms might deter you from fighting at your best and – well, considering all that's happened today…" he didn't need to remind her of what had occurred in that very room just hours before. "I would say you're a little fragile."

"I'm fine," she insisted, a tiny, barely-there smile on her face to assure him. "I promise; I'll be okay to fight – if the need arises. I really do think this spirit might be a peaceful one."

Syaoran wanted to snort. That was wishful thinking on her part – the spirit they'd been seeing, the one that had been giving them bruises and had just moments ago would not release her from his dark hold, was certainly not a peaceful one. He was almost positive that they'd come to blows with him if they were able to go through the well.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. He knew there wasn't any way he could stop her from fighting. And she was right – she _had_ fought with injuries worse than bruises before. "But if you feel the least bit tired, or hurt, or—"

"I will let you and Eriol-kun know," she finished for him.

Right at the mention of his name, Eriol knocked on the doorframe to get their attention. Leaning in, he informed them, "I called Meiling-san. I only called her to let her know that we were going to the well – in case, you know, we go and we're never seen again, she would know where we went, at least." He said so with humour in his voice, as if the whole situation was laughable. "Anyway, she insisted that she come along."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and thought sarcastically, _wonderful – the more the merrier_.

Tomoyo came in with two hangers in each hand. "Here we are," she announced. When she saw Eriol, she frowned. "Eriol, I didn't realize we'd be making this trip with you. I don't have anything ready…"

He stopped her with a smile. "I'm sure I have something lying around the house."

She broke out into her own, gorgeous smile. "Oh, good! Could you call Meiling-chan back and ask her to come in costume, as well? I didn't bring anything for her, either…"

Was Syaoran really the only person nervous about visiting the well? Because it certainly seemed like it. To everyone else, this was just another card capturing opportunity, a chance for them to get together in their cutesy costumes and pretend like they were little kids again. But didn't they understand that this was actually a dangerous mission they were about to embark upon?

With some irritation and anger in his movements, Syaoran shook his head and took his costume from Tomoyo. They stared after him in confusion, wondering why he had grabbed it so viciously from her hand. He stomped out of the room and walked across the hall to get changed. They wouldn't understand how he was feeling – no matter how much he tried to explain to any of them that the entire trip itself was not something to be taken lightly, they never listened. Why would they now?

He slammed his door shut, sure that they were still staring after him. He threw down the costume onto his bed and plopped down next to it, his elbows atop his knees and his face in his hands. Although he was angry that as per usual, he was the only one taking the magical issues seriously, he had a hard time admitting to himself the other reason why he was suddenly put in such a poor mood. It was a sure fact that as soon as they confronted the magical spirit and saved the day – there would be no more reason for him to be around Sakura… and he knew that better than anybody.

_**xxxxxx**_

In the same parking lot that Kaito brought them to earlier that day, they exited from the spacious car that Meiling had brought to Eriol's home only twenty minutes after getting called. It was a different car than the one she had brought before – because they didn't really want to be bothered driving two cars, they had asked her to bring something that would fit all of them. It was a good thing she had access to the Li Clan's car collection.

The drive was quiet and unbearably tense. Syaoran wasn't speaking, nor was Sakura. Though Tomoyo tried to make little bits of conversation, it didn't quite work. She had run out of topics quickly – anyway, it was hard to keep up lively discussion when the others wouldn't participate, also when they all knew they were getting closer to the magical source that had been harassing them.

Just as Eriol had predicted, the construction workers had left for the night. The entire area was surprisingly quiet. They had thought that there would be at least some noise from the surrounding shops and boutiques in the area, but they were closed for the night as well, and they guessed that until Kaito's tower was built, there wouldn't be a lot of people coming through at all, which was good for them.

It was especially good that no one was around, because if someone outside of their party had seen what they were dressed in, they would've thought they'd just left from a very strange costume party.

In the crisp evening air, Sakura did not need a jacket to keep her warm. She was dressed in a small white shirt with sleeves that stopped just before the elbow. The shirt itself covered only her breasts and didn't extend very long, leaving the rest of her torso, including her belly button and waist completely exposed. On top of white parachute-like pants she wore a long, flowing skirt that fell down to her ankles with a part of the fabric tucked in the middle falling to the same length. Surprisingly, there was no pink – even her shoes were white. The only other colour that was allowed in the outfit was dark purple trimming.

Syaoran was dressed in white pants, a sleeveless black turtle neck, with a dark green cloak around his shoulders. Leather gloves that were also green covered his cold hands. He noticed that the outfit itself was the most normal he'd ever worn, more normal than anything else that Tomoyo had ever designed for him. She probably knew that at their age, she would've had a much harder time convincing him to wear something ostentatious.

Eriol wore only his usual, standard black and blue robes and pointed hat. Tomoyo was glad that he was able to find it in his summer home. Apparently, he had the outfit in every closet of every home he owned, just in case he needed it for magical purposes.

When Meiling was called once more and asked to come in costume, she was also prepared. Like Eriol's, hers was unchanged.. She obviously did not keep the same one that she wore when she was a child (that would be a stretch – literally), but got a new one made for her in the same exact style and colours. The white and red Chinese garb with extremely long sleeves and ying and yang symbol looked as it usually did on her, only more enticing. The fact that she had longer, more developed legs now made the dress look even nicer on her.

And Tomoyo, far too busy fussing over everyone else's attire, couldn't be bothered to attend to her own. She exited the car still dressed in her blue night gown, her hair also still woven tightly into the bun she wore for bed.

They all stood, huddled together before walking any further. Eriol, Syaoran and Sakura were still far enough to not feel the sickening aura from the well, and thankfully they were far more prepared for this visit than the last time.

"Shield," Sakura spoke softly, with the card right up against her lips. She decided earlier that night that she was going to wield her magic calmly and without the theatrics that night. Before, she always had to make big, splashy actions for Tomoyo's video records, but she just didn't feel like it at the moment. "Please protect us from the effects of the well."

They watched as she held the card upright, let her hand go flat and then take a small step back. The Shield remained erect and twirled momentarily before shooting up into the air. Sakura took her miniature staff from her neck and closed her first around it, waiting for it to elongate into a staff. When it did, she raised it into the air and pointed the very tip towards the card. It spun furiously for a few seconds before a protective circle enclosed herself, Tomoyo and Kero.

Eriol, Syaoran and Meiling were in their own protective bubble, only it was one that Syaoran had created. He remembered the last time he used this very same spell – it was on Sakura's doorstep, the first night he came back to her after a near ten year long absence. Oh, how things had come full circle.

With her camcorder still glued to her face, Tomoyo walked along with the others to the well. They still remembered their way to it, even in the darkness. When finally it came into their view, Kero transformed into his tiger-like appearance and peered into the giant hole where bulldozers and other machines stood still without their operators. The well, like everything else, looked so harmless from where they were standing.

"Ladies?" Kero asked, crouching down.

Sakura and Tomoyo hopped on his back. With one look over her shoulder, Sakura said to her three friends, "See you down there."

They nodded.

Syaoran took his own magical necklace from around him and placed the tiny sword in his palm. He closed his eyes and concentrated, waiting to feel the handle grow from light to heavy in his hand. When he felt the transition come to an end, he kept his eyes closed and slipped an ofuda between his index and middle finger. He brought it right before his face, his index finger just touching his nose, and commanded, "_Fuuka Shourai_!"

A gust of wind erupted from the sword raised them into the air before slowly bringing them down into the hole where Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero waited, who re-transformed into his smaller guise.

No one spoke after they had all landed. Even Tomoyo had stopped recording.

After several moments of silence, Sakura wondered, "Is it safe to remove the protective spells?"

"I wouldn't risk it," Syaoran answered, peering down, inside the well. "What do we do now?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "The only two times we visited Madoushi in the water dimension was when that book nearly drowned us all, and when your okaa-sama was there to help Sakura-chan." She was looking at Syaoran.

"Should we…" Meiling began, nervous to ask, "Should we call your okaa-sama, Syaoran?"

His eyes narrowed at the idea. "No," he answered almost immediately. "We're not calling for her help." He was definitely not going to allow anyone else in the Li family to get involved in this mess. He and Meiling were more than enough.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Tomoyo asked, very much confused.

Eriol sighed. He stepped out of protective bubble that he shared with Syaoran and Meiling, but to their surprise as he walked out of it, another one immediately encapsulated him – probably one of his own magical doing. He walked straight up to the well and paused to take one glance over his shoulder. "Stand back," he told his friends.

They did as they were told and remained silent as they took a few paces away from the well. With his back to them, Eriol took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly before he gritted his teeth and got rid of his protective bubble.

Syaoran, Sakura, Meiling and particularly Tomoyo were taken aback by his actions. Their jaws dropped momentarily before they started screaming at him. Immediately Eriol bent over and grasped at his stomach. Though he pushed up on his thighs as he tried to remain standing, the force of the aura pressed in on him so suddenly and all at once, that it was hard for him to not keel over.

"Idiot! What are you doing!" Syaoran shouted, furious. "I thought we agreed not to step out of our circles!"

"Eriol!" Tomoyo cried. "Get your circle back! You're going to get sick!"

"Keep her back in case something happens," he told Sakura, obviously thinking that something might explode from the well because of his actions. "He needs to know…" Eriol bit out, attempting to explain, though what he really wanted to do was vomit, "that we're here… he won't be able to sense us if we're all within the bubbles… "

"We could have all stepped out," Sakura said, sounding sad that Eriol felt the need to do it himself.

"There is no point in getting all of us sick again," he said, losing strength in his voice. "He only needs to sense one of us."

They understood what he was trying to get at, but even before when they had visited the well, they had been there for a considerable amount of time without any kind of protection. The spirit still did not sense them, nor did it open any doors for them to enter. Why would this time be any different?

After a minute, Keroberos voiced everyone's thoughts and said, "He can't sense you – don't you see he isn't allowing you entry into his dimension? He didn't do it earlier before, he isn't going to do it now! Don't put yourself through this any longer – you'll get a magical fever like Sakura's – only worse!"

Eriol ignored him and glared into the blackness of the well. "Why aren't you letting us in?" he groaned. Then, he had an idea. "If it's Clow he wants…" he said, preparing to transform his own staff. "It's Clow I'll give him."

He wasn't sure where he got the strength, especially considering how weak he felt, but he found himself saying the words. "The key that hides the power of darkness… reveal your true form to me!" he stopped to catch his breath, "I, Eriol, command you… under our contract – release!"

Along with his tall, thin staff, Eriol's golden, magical circle with the sun and crescent appeared beneath him, positioning itself so that he was standing in its center.

"What the hell are you doing now!" Syaoran screamed. "This is taking up too much of your energy – you're going to collapse soon if you don't stop it!"

"I may only be Clow's reincarnation," Eriol said to him, his voice growing as weak as his body, "But this is still his magic I'm using! If the spirit in the well senses it – maybe he'll let us in…"

Suddenly there was a burst of crimson that erupted from inside the well, knocking Eriol backwards. The scarlet surge of energy shot upwards into the sky, like a blood red waterfall in reverse. And then as quickly as it had happened, the pulse of energy turned from red to blue. And instead of flowing like a trail of fire from behind a blasted rocket, it began to move more calmly, like the waves of a river.

"Come out of your circles," he told them, his voice still terribly weak. "I – I don't feel his aura so strongly anymore. I mean – it's still there… but it's not making me sick."

With a tentative glance between each other, Syaoran and Sakura nodded and got rid of the bubbles. They soon realized that Eriol was right. There was a definite feeling of magic in the air – like electricity. But it wasn't weighing down on them so heavily like it did before.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked in deep concern.

"I… I should be okay," Eriol told the group. They didn't seem to believe him. He sighed. "Listen you guys – I may not be feeling all right, but I need to go down there with you. I'm the closest thing there is to Clow – if he wants an audience with him, maybe he'll believe that it's me. If I don't go with you – things could get ugly."

They all bit their lips. Unfortunately, he was right.

Without another word, Syaoran stepped up to the well, with one foot on the cement rim. He looked at all of them gravely. For the entire trip they hadn't taken him seriously – but now, at this moment, they would, so help him. "I will go down first," he instructed, "Sakura, Keroberos – follow with Hiiragizawa. Tomoyo and Meiling—"

"I'm coming," chimed Meiling, sounding indignant. "You are _not_ leaving me here."

"I'm coming, too!" said Tomoyo. Everyone looked in her direction, looking shocked. It was the first sime she had actually requested to come along on a dangerous mission. Usually she didn't mind being left behind – it only made sense, because she wasn't quipped with any magical ability.

Eriol was already shaking his head with Syaoran. "No – no way. You're not going down there. Who knows what will happen—"

"I will be fine," insisted Tomoyo. "Anyway, there is nothing to stop me from following after you guys, once you've all gone in. I'm not going to stand by while the rest of you put yourselves in possible danger." Inwardly Syaoran wondered why she wouldn't allow it this time, when before, it used to happen all the time when they were just kids. And he realized in quiet surprise that this time, they were with an ill Eriol – and that made all the difference to her.

"Me neither," Meiling said. "I'd rather not have Tomoyo-chan follow, either. At least _I'm_ trained in combat. But she's right – there's nothing and no one to stop her from following. And you _know_ I'll be following, too."

They all sighed in frustration. No one was willing to let either of the girls accompany them. The only person that could possibly perform any kind of magic that would stop them from doing so was Eriol – and he wasn't in any kind of shape to do it.

"Damn it," he muttered. "I swear to God, Tomoyo – you too, Meiling-san. If anything happens, the both of you _get out of harm's way_. Understood?"

"Yeah," Sakura started, looking none too happy about the decision that they came to, either. "If we tell you to leave while you can, even if we're still caught in a sticky situation – you _have _to leave. Promise me you'll leave, Tomoyo-chan. You too, Meiling-chan."

Tomoyo nodded reassuringly. "I know that's what all of you would want me to do – so I will. Even though I rather wouldn't, I will."

"Yes, yes, yes," Meiling said impatiently. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Tomoyo-chan is okay and _yes_, Syaoran, I'll take care of myself, too," she said to him when he gave her a pointed look. "Shall we get going, then?"

Syaoran gave a firm nod. He brought his other foot to the rim of the well and prepared to jump. Before taking the plunge, Sakura's small hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked down at her in wonder, surprised that she had anything to say to him. She had barely spoken to him at all since the conversation they had in her guest bedroom.

"When you jump," she began softly, staring into his eyes, "you'll enter the tunnel of dimensions. You'll see light blue shapes… one of them will be the door to the right dimension. If you don't pick the right one, you'll be stuck in the tunnel forever."

He hadn't known this. He figured she must have learned this piece of information the last time she had to enter into a different dimension – Madoushi's dimension. It was a good thing she had experience in this particular area.

"So what should I do?" he asked her.

She lowered her gaze momentarily before finding the courage to gaze up at him once more. "Love," she told him.

His heart pitter-pattered at the word. "W-what?"

She exhaled firmly, caught his gaze again and held it, "Only powerful feelings of love will get you to where you need to go."

He stared at her long after she had told him what to do, knowing exactly what thought would pass through his mind when he dove into the well – he was staring right at it. He wondered – was Sakura staring at her ticket to the other dimension, as well?

But it wasn't the time or place to think of such things. For the first time in a long, long time, they might become engaged in magical combat – there were far more pressing matters to think about.

"Thanks," he said to her, turning once more to face the well. "Don't forget to tell the others the same thing."

She nodded but took his arm once more, telling him in all sincerity, "Please… be careful."

He returned her nod and took one look into the depths of the well. He balled his hands into fists and without another thought, jumped inside, not once looking above him.

At first, he found himself free-falling, and he wondered if he would end up a pancake at the bottom of the well. But then he slowed almost to a complete halt, and instead he was falling slowly, as though gravity was too lazy to bring him down any faster. His surroundings were coloured in dark blue – and just as Sakura said there would be, he saw shapes in a lighter blue. There were hundreds of them all around him, so near and yet so far away.

Immediately he thought of Sakura's face, smiling at him as she said his name. He thought to himself, _Please lead me to the right dimension, so she can go back home to her happy, normal life_.

A light blue square appeared beneath him, burning so bright it could very well have been white. It must've been the right one. So without panic, he allowed himself to fall straight inside it, and entered through the coloured square feet first like he was being swallowed by quicksand.

When his entire body had gone through it, he continued to float downwards, closer and closer to the silver platform that he'd seen in his dreams. He looked to the heavens and saw that what he had just entered through was the window, also from his dreams. When his feet made contact with the flooring, he made a quick analysis of his surroundings, though there was no need. Everything was in its place – the pillars, the jagged pieces of wood sticking out in random directions – and the darkness was ever present as well.

After a moment, Tomoyo followed with Kero at her side, then Meiling with Eriol, and finally, Sakura. At least they could all breathe a sigh of relief, comforted in the fact that at least none of them were trapped in the dimensional tunnel.

They stood in a line together, Syaoran in the center with Sakura and Eriol flanking him on either side. They weren't sure what would follow after their arrival in his dimension, but if the three of them were together to pull all their magical powers together, they didn't have to worry too much.

"What now?" Sakura asked.

"We wait," Syaoran answered, never moving his eyes from the ceiling. He remembered what happened all those years ago in China, and he sure as hell remembered what happened in his dream. If the spirit were to appear, it would emerge above him in the exact spot he was staring at.

Just as he had predicted, black robes began to simmer and shift in the soft blue light just beneath the ceiling window. The dark figure materialized in the center of the room, high above the tallest jagged pillars. With his hood still over his face, he stared down at them all, arms still crossed over his chest and tucked into the opposite sleeve. They braced themselves for what he would do next.

"Who are you?" came his rough, angry voice. "This is my dimension – why have you come?"

His voice resonated in the large space, so angry and loud that he seemed on the verge of lashing out in a rage.

"Your dimension?" Syaoran wondered aloud, confused. This dimension was not a place he had been banished to – it was his home?

"The shadow realm – my very own dwelling where I sealed my spirit to wait for Clow – _where is he_? WHY AREN'T YOU HIM?"

They knew exactly what to say. They were going to explain Clow's death and the reason why they were summoned there was because they were the only remaining things in the world that even resembled Clow at all. But it didn't seem as though he were in any mood to listen to them.

"Why have all of you come here," he seethed angrily, barely lifting his head to have a better look at them, "instead of CLOW REED?"

He had gone from speaking loudly in anger to full blown yelling. He un-tucked one arm from his sleeve and thrust it forward, sending a blast of black energy straight towards them.

Alarmed, Eriol flew to the side and took Tomoyo and Meiling down with him, making sure they were well out of the way. Syaoran and Sakura had gone in the opposite direction with Kero, ducking before they could get hit.

Angry that he hadn't caused any harm, the shadowy figure thrust his other arm forward, sending an even bigger discharge of dark energy that split in half, one aiming for Syaoran, Sakura and Kero, the other intended for Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling.

"Sakura!" Kero cried, warning her that now was the time to start defending themselves.

She nodded and activated the Jump Card, waited for the small wings to appear on her feet and sprang upwards. When she found herself high enough to stand atop one of the pillars, she landed and looked around the room, wondering where everyone else had gone.

Kero had transformed once more into his larger form and had flown to Meiling and Tomoyo. They were dismounting from his back, sharing the space of another pillar that was much too far away from Sakura. Closer on another column but shorter than the one she was on, she spotted Syaoran, his sword transformed and held at the ready. He was also half supporting Eriol's weight.

"What magic is that?" the man hissed, his question obviously aimed at Sakura. "That's a Clow Card," he gasped, still sounding as angry as ever. "You have a Clow Card… where did you get it? TELL ME, WHERE DID YOU GET IT!"

He spread both arms apart and suddenly, short blasts of the same dark energy exploded from the ground. Though taken off guard, Sakura was still able to hop to another column, just in time before the previous one she was standing on top of was exploded. As they continued all around her, she found that all of them were forced to move from pillar to pillar, as each of them blew up. They were running out of options – if the explosions continued for much longer, they wouldn't have anywhere else to stand but the floor directly beneath him.

"It's not a Clow Card!" Sakura shouted, as she hopped to avoid the debris from the blasted pillars.

"Don't lie to me!" he screamed back at her, ceasing his rampage for only a moment. "I know a Clow Card when I see one – tell me where you got it!"

"It's my own card!" Sakura told him, standing her ground on the new column that she found refuge on. With a quick glance to her surroundings, she was able to see that though her friends were nervous and shaken up, they were safe. "It's not Clow's – it used to be."

Still covered in shadows, he paused once more and seemed to calm down – but only marginally.

"What do you mean – it used to be?"

She pointed with her staff to Syaoran and Eriol, who were on the silver platform. It was much harder for Syaoran to escape the explosions, especially while tending to Eriol. Unfortunately, the hard floor was the safest for the both of them to be. It was the only part of the entire chamber that was being spared.

"My name is Kinomoto Sakura – I'm the inheritor of the Clow Cards. But they're not Clow's anymore – they're mine – they're Sakura Cards. My friends – Li Syaoran and Hiiragizawa Eriol – they're part of Clow's heritage."

He began breathing heavily, probably trying to contain his temper while attempting to have a conversation with Sakura.

"I didn't ask for any of you. _Where is Clow_," he demanded. He still sounded angry, but at least his voice was not raised. "Tell me where he is."

Sakura steeled herself, preparing to explain. "Clow is not with us anymore," she told him calmly. "He hasn't been for many years. Syaoran-kun, Eriol-kun and I… we're all here because you called us."

"I never called for ANY OF YOU!" he shouted, clearly upset over Sakura's claim. "I CALLED FOR CLOW! NOW _BRING HIM TO ME_!"

"We can't!" Syaoran snapped. He steadied Eriol and made sure he could stand on his own before taking a step forward. "Don't you understand? Clow _isn't here_ – he passed away! The only reason we came here was because you summoned those who were like him – _us_."

"Those… who are like him?" he echoed, confused.

"Yes," Syaoran answered evenly. "She is Clow's magical successor. I am his Chinese heir. And he is Clow's reincarnation," he said, pointing to Eriol.

He seemed to be processing this. Quietly he murmured, "His… magical successor… his heir and his… reincarnation?"

Syaoran nodded wordlessly.

He pointed with one arm at Eriol. "He is the reincarnation?"

Eriol faced him without fear and nodded. "Only that. I am my own person, with my own identity. But I was brought into this world to carry out Clow's duties, when he could not do it himself."

He paused – and then, in a voice that was strangely happy, said, "You will do."

Out of the silence he released a cry of rage that none of them had ever heard before. He thrust his arm forward once more and yet another stream of black energy curled from behind Eriol, winding itself around him so tightly they could see the pain on his face.

"No!" Tomoyo cried out, lunging forward. Meiling restrained her from jumping off their column to go to his side.

They all watched helplessly as he was released from the coil and thrown against a column. An unmistakable _smack_ could be heard as his body made contact with the solid, and a thud as he slid down the length of it, only to land in a curled heap on the silver floor.

Tomoyo wept with both hands over her mouth as he groaned and twitched slightly, but then moved no more. Not waiting another moment, another stream wound itself around Syaoran and brought him high into the air, so that he was almost at the same height as the floating shadowy figure. Gasping for breath, Syaoran tried to give him the most potent glare that he could.

"And you," he said, his voice hard and merciless, "you are his heir?"

Syaoran didn't even nod – he already knew the answer to the question.

As if even more angered by the fact that he would not respond to him in any way, he raised Syaoran higher and did the same as he had done with Eriol, flinging him across the room. He too hit a pillar, fell hard onto the floor and rolled some ways to the center. Because he wasn't sick or as weak as Eriol was when they'd first entered the shadow realm, he was able to cough and push up on his elbows, but not do much more.

There was no doubt about it – Sakura would go next. She knew she would follow them and be thrown like a rag doll. She jumped out of the way as soon as she was sure Syaoran was all right, only the black jet of energy found her in mid-jump. It took her in its suffocating hold and brought her to face the man himself – only this time, literally, face to face. For the first time, she saw inside the hood and caught sight of the most tortured pair of black eyes that she had ever seen in her life.

"And you…" he started. "You are his… magical successor?"

She didn't answer him either. All she did was struggle against his dark magic and hope against hope that her friends were all right. She would fight him to the death if she had to – but she needed to make sure that everyone else could escape from his realm.

"You…" he said softly. She could feel the binding around her body get looser and looser. "Are… _beautiful_…"

Even from where Syaoran was lying in a fetal position on the floor, far from where Sakura floated above him, he could not help but hear the compliment she'd just been paid. Or perhaps his ears were malfunctioning, after the fall?

"Amazing…" he breathed, in obvious awe of her, "you remind me so much of her…"

Unable to decipher what on earth he was saying, Sakura ignored him and said against gritted teeth, "Let my friends leave! Us three – we're the only ones you want. Let the others go."

The man with black eyes, dark hair, and pale skin looked back at her, a small smile of recognition in his eyes. It was as if he weren't even looking at her. In fact, it seemed more than anything else like he was thinking about a particular memory in the back of his mind.

"Your friends?" he echoed, his voice still soft. "I have no interest for anyone in this room," he told her, then met her gaze. "Except for you."

"Let her go!" Kero shouted, flying upwards and straight towards them. He roared and unleashed a giant fire ball at the man, only it was met with the black magic, stretched like a blanket which smothered both the flame and the beast.

"No!" Sakura panted, looking below her to make sure Kero wasn't too badly hurt. "Please, just let them leave this place!"

His eyes seemed to light up, as though a thought had just occurred to him. Suddenly, more jets of black shot up from the ground, only they erupted exactly where everyone else was situated. Sakura cried out in horror as she looked over her shoulder. Everyone – Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol, Syaoran and Kero – they were all caught in the explosions.

When the room went quiet, only Sakura's soft whimpering could be heard.

"Don't cry," the man told her gently. "The people that came with you… they're right here."

Blinking a few times to be able to see clearly, she swiveled her head and saw that he was telling the truth. They were all encased in dark circles – similar to the ones they'd been encased in back in Madoushi's dimension, only they weren't asleep. They were all awake, and thankfully they were all mobile. Even Eriol was moving again, but only a little bit.

Syaoran beat his fists against his bubble, realizing he was trapped. "Let her go!" he demanded. The sound of the pounding was stifled – as though the noise was trapped inside of the circle, just like him.

"Please," Sakura pleaded, "I'll do whatever you want… please just let them leave!"

He smiled at her, seemingly glad that she had offered to do what he asked.

"Will you stay with me?"

Sakura gasped. Had she really just heard him correctly?

Apparently she had, because Syaoran had heard the request as well, and he was already answering the question for her.

"No! She won't! _Let her go_!"

Sakura let her eyes rest on him momentarily before she scanned the rest of the bubbles. Tomoyo was weeping inside of hers, confused and probably angry at herself for being so helpless. Meiling and Kero were fighting just as hard as Syaoran, wasting precious strength on trying to break through the indestructible circles. Eriol was still weak, struggling to sit straight.

She didn't need to think about it any longer. The answer was obvious – but she needed to be sure of his promise.

"If I stay," she said to him slowly, "you will let them go?"

He nodded and smiled.

"You promise?"

"I will give them a way out," he swore, sounding severe. "But only if you stay with me."

She turned away from him and her friends. She was sure that if she looked at any of them as she spoke, she would give way to fear and say the wrong words.

"I'll stay."

Though she had spoken softly, it came across as loud and clear to Syaoran. He had taken a momentary pause to hear her response. When it didn't come out as he wanted, he immediately returned to thrashing against the protective circle, screaming and cursing at the man who had just taken Sakura for his prisoner.

And then, abruptly, their bubbles disappeared from all around them and they fell to the ground. Sakura screamed involuntarily, scared that they might get injured from the fall. Thankfully, Kero was able to swoop and gather all of them around him – Syaoran, Meiling and Tomoyo on his back, Eriol around his bowed neck.

"Now let them go," Sakura said fiercely. "You said you would!"

"No!" Syaoran protested, readying his sword. "We are _not_ leaving without you!"

"That's too bad," said the other man in response. "Either you leave from here, or you die here."

"No!" Sakura shrieked, horrified at the thought. "They will leave – just give them the way out!"

Slowly he raised one arm above his head, and instantly the window above them shattered, becoming dust before the shards of glass could hit the ground. He made a wide flourish with the same arm he used as if to say, "There you go."

"I am _not _leaving here_ without you_," Syaoran said, clearly angry.

"Syaoran-kun, please," Sakura whimpered. "You can't fight him all on your own – Eriol-kun is hurt! You have to get him help," she said. "Meiling-chan and Tomoyo-chan – they can't stay here!"

"So they can _leave_!" he said heatedly. "But I'm not going anywhere unless you're leaving, too! Keroberos – take them all and fly out of here, I'm staying behind!"

Kero looked unsure of what to do. He didn't want Sakura staying there as much as the next person – but Sakura spoke the truth. They needed to vacate that realm and fast, before the man decided to go back on his word and just get rid of them all.

"Either you all go," he said to them, as if reading Kero's thoughts. "Or none of you go. There is nothing you can do. She agreed to stay – you will leave her here with me. She is mine now. "

"SHE – IS _NOT_ – YOURS!" Syaoran shouted, angered by the words he'd just said than by anything else. "NOW _LET GO OF HER_!"

"You bore me," he said in response to Syaoran's scornful remark. "It doesn't matter now. I've held up my part of the bargain. I've given you a way out and none of you will leave. So your journey ends here." He turned to Sakura and said to her, "Say your goodbyes."

Sakura's heart sank as the groom began to quake. It didn't take long for her to realize that the dark corners of the room were starting to move in on her friends, coming in closer and closer like walls that were ready to flatten them all to death. Immediately she began to struggle against the ribbon-like things that were still wrapped around her, fighting the panic and the tears.

"No," she panted, "no – _please_! You said you'd let them go!"

"I said no such thing," he answered, not even looking at her face as he responded. Instead he was staring down at the platform that was slowly but surely becoming covered in the darkness – a darkness that would probably smother everyone Sakura loved. "I said I'd give them a way out. They chose not to take it."

Syaoran was torn between saving his friends and staying with Sakura. They huddled together, trying to get as far away from the darkness as possible. If only Tomoyo, Meiling, Eriol and Keroberos would just leave without him – but he knew they wouldn't. It was like the other man had said – either they all go, or none of them did.

"Syaoran," Meiling said, her voice layered with panic, "we have to get out of here!"

"But Sakura," he said, "we can't just leave her here!"

"We have to!" Tomoyo insisted, and he was surprised to hear her say so. He thought she would have for sure been on his side. "I made a promise to Sakura-chan and by God if you make me break a promise to my best friend, I will never forgive you! Sakura is a big girl – she will be fine in here on her own! But we need you to get out of this place alive." She took his arm and squeezed it tightly. "So you can be the one to save her when we come back."

"Yeah, kid," Kero said nervously. "I don't want to leave her here either – I'd stay behind with you if I could, but I have to make sure Tomoyo and the brat are safe, and I'm their ride through that window! But if we don't have you with us when we get out of here, who's going to make sure we get her back?"

He opened his mouth to retort – with what, he had no idea, because they were all making very valid points.

"Syaoran," he heard. It was Eriol's voice, weak and groggy. "They're right. None of us want to leave Sakura-san here. But we have to live to see another day if we have any hopes of rescuing her from here." He looked meaningfully into his eyes. "Leave today – fight for her tomorrow."

Syaoran pressed his lips together in a firm line, biting the inside of his cheek and balling his free hand into a tight fist, the other grasping the hilt of his sword so tightly he could have crushed it.

Raising his sword above his head, Syaoran pointed it directly to the shadow figure. "I _will_ be back for her," he promised.

The man smiled at him from overhead, cruelty and joy over getting his way showing on every part of his face.

"We'll see about that."

Syaoran wondered what he could have meant by that, but didn't have to for much longer. When he realized just how close the black walls had come to him and his friends, he had probably thought that it was too late for them to escape.

But they were right – they all had to be alive so they could help save her from his shadow realm. So without another word or thought, Syaoran yelled, "Now!" and fast as lightning, Kero had scooped up the girls while he took half of Eriol's weight onto his own shoulders again. He didn't even hear himself cry out the wind spell, or notice as it carried them swiftly up and out of the window, after Keroberos .

It took him all his strength not to look back at the scene he had just left behind – or more specifically, the person. As light from the full moon that shone at the other end of the tunnel that they'd come through moments before, he put all worry and fear aside to let only the vow he had made ring loudly in his ears.

He _would_ come back for her. He had done it once before – he would sure as hell do it again.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** And the plot thickens!

Did anyone notice that their costumes in this chapter were the ones they usually wear in the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles series? If you did, kudos!

I also made that dimension closely resemble the one from Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie. If you guys watch it/remember it, then I think you'd make the connection pretty quick!

The first full week of school has gone by and I have a feeling I will be pretty darn busy this semester! So I beg/crave/plead for everyone's understanding when it comes to updates. Just remember that I do not, ever, abandon _any_ story, _ever_. And that I think you guys are so awesomely awesome that you do not deserve to be left hanging!

That is all for now and thank you for reading this chapter! Please review if you happened to read the whole chapter :).

Enjoy your September!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	13. Square One

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter thirteen!

**Casting Shadows**

_Square One_

Closing her eyes did not help erase the images that raced through Sakura's mind. In fact, it seemed to heighten them; seemed to make them realer, more defined and much sadder. With her knees tucked inwards to her chest and her arms hugging the underneath of her thighs, she wept at being left behind in the spirit's shadow realm, though it was exactly what she had wanted. It was the company she would be keeping in this realm that troubled her.

She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed. Hours, that was for sure. She sat in that same position for God only knows how long, crying silently and ignoring whatever else that was happening around her – not that there was much. The moment that Syaoran, Tomoyo, Meiling, Eriol and Kero had escaped through the window above her, she watched them go, but was still unsure if they had made it out all right. Part of her weeping was because she had felt so helpless in making sure that they were all safe. She could only hope and pray that they were.

As soon as they had gone, the dark walls began to separate, revealing once more the silver platform and jagged columns. From her bonds she was slowly released and was laid down gently onto the floor, where she quickly scooted away from the man that had nearly killed her friends – who would have, had she not agreed to stay with him. He had disappeared shortly after the whole debacle. She wasn't sure to where nor did she really _care_ to know where.

He appeared some time later – she wasn't sure how long it had been. She hadn't actually been completely aware of his presence until she sensed movement just above her. Lifting her head momentarily from where she'd buried it, she blinked away tears to see what he was up to.

He floated nearby, coming closer towards her. She watched as he did so and did not try to move away. She was determined to hold her ground, if only to show him that though she was distraught, she was unafraid.

"What is your name, flower?" he asked softly.

Sakura did not answer him. She turned her head the other direction in an obvious manner, to show him that she was unhappy – though that was probably already extremely evident.

"I'm sorry I left you alone," he apologized, sounding as though he meant it, which surprised her. "I was bored of the… melodramatics."

She didn't answer, only kept her head turned and her mouth shut. She could still sense him floating by her, just staring at her, waiting. When she could no longer stand it, she faced him and stared through hard eyes. What exactly did he want from her?

But that wasn't the question she asked. She thought, perhaps, to gain his trust and maybe to know who exactly he was, that she would start off with a simpler query.

"What… what time is it?"

He smiled at the sound of her voice, obviously pleased that she was at least speaking to him. The smile looked rather ghostly on his pale face. But his dark hair reminded her so much of Kaito, which she actually found quite comforting.

The man shrugged innocently. "This realm knows neither time nor day," he told her.

She tilted her head to one side. "You mean…?"

He floated higher and spread his arms wide, indicating to the whole area. "When I sealed myself in this realm, I was able to stop the flow of time with my magic. Here, you'll never grow tired or hungry. You'll remain the same as you were when you first came… _perfect_."

She wasn't sure exactly how to react to that. Should she be glad that she at least wouldn't starve to death in the Godforsaken shadow realm, or devastated that she'd wither away, lonely and separated from all of her loved ones?

When she didn't respond, he spoke again, this time with a positive appraisal. "Truly, you look… _lovely_."

Though her eyes narrowed at the compliment, she did nothing more.

"However… I think a different attire would suit you far better."

She gasped when a gust of black energy came out of nowhere and swirled around her, lifting her from the sitting position she was in. She wasn't quite sure what was happening, but whatever magic he was performing wasn't hurting her, so she wasn't terribly worried.

When it dissipated, she looked down at herself to see what exactly had been done to her. She noticed with some shock that the costume Tomoyo had made for her was no longer on her body. Instead she found herself dressed in a strange, black material that fell all the way down to her ankles. A slit ran the length of her right thigh, revealing her porcelain white skin that was almost as pale as her imprisoner's. A sweetheart style top covered her chest, showing the deep valley of her breasts. Were there not two straps going over her shoulders keeping the dress up, it would surely reveal more than the valley.

She picked at the dress, trying to feel what exactly it was made it out of. But upon pinching it with her fingers and taking a short twirl, she realized it felt like nothing at all atop her skin.

"What…" she asked quietly, as though she didn't want to ask him but couldn't help it, "what material is this?"

"Shadows," he answered simply.

She gave him a blank look. "Shadows?"

He nodded and glided closer, but still kept a distance. Instead of hovering in one spot he floated in a circle, forcing her to turn and face him if she wanted to maintain eye contact for their conversation.

"That is my magic. I draw my power from darkness. As hers was water, I draw mine from shadows. And after waiting here for years and years… I've been able to hone it… perfect it. I daresay I'm one to rival Clow Reed."

"Clow Reed is dead."

A shadow fell across his face – literally. His entire visage seemed to grow dark at the reminder that after waiting all these years, the person for whom he had sealed his spirit into another realm for had passed away.

"Indeed he is," he said, his voice hard, like his black eyes. After staring for quite some time into her face, his entire being softened – even his black robes seemed to lighten somewhat.

Sakura also took on a less harsh attitude towards him. To purposefully try and anger him when he was only trying to be nice to her was simply not like her. He had done nothing to try and harm her, and yet she intentionally mentioned Clow's death to get a rise out of him. Perhaps the darkness and the separation from her friends were starting to get to her.

To switch topics, she chose to ask about the only thing he said that truly confused her.

"Who draws her power from water?"

His smile softened further. He reached out to her, his hand near the curve of her cheek.

"Tell me, flower," he asked, his voice a whisper. "What is your name?"

She thought about how to respond. Clearly, trying to anger him wouldn't get her anywhere. She concluded that her original plan of attempting to gain his trust would be a far better plan. She asked, "If I tell you mine, will you tell me yours?"

He only smiled at her and did nothing else.

"My name," she answered timidly, "is Sakura. What is your name?"

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran climbed the stairs of Eriol's summer home slowly, biding his time. Since leaving Sakura in the shadow realm with the spirit of a man who clearly had a strange infatuation with her, he couldn't bring himself to think of anything else.

When he, Tomoyo, Eriol and Kero successfully escaped from the realm and flew out of the well, his mind was racing. His immediate thought was to herd all of his friends together, convince them to leave and tend to Eriol while he dove back in and fought the spirit for Sakura.

It was Meiling who shook him out of his angry haze. As he was stepping onto the rim of the well to enter once more, she took hold of his arm and practically begged him to go back with them to the summer home. He was extremely reluctant at first. There he was, at the well, just one jump away from rejoining Sakura – and not even feeling sick! He wasn't even aware of how sore he was from being thrown around – the only pain he felt was in his heart.

"You can't go!" Meiling told him, holding fast onto his arm. "You have no idea what you're up against!"

He tried to rip himself from her grasp but to no avail. She had obviously grown much stronger since they'd last seen each other.

"I was caught by surprise," he answered angrily, "I didn't think he'd react the way he did – I'm ready now, I can fight him!"

"Syaoran, didn't you see what he did? He's powerful! Those walls nearly _crushed us_. That entire realm is his to command and I know he won't hesitate to kill you if he sees you've come back!"

"So what are you saying?" he snapped at her. "That we don't go back at all? That we just leave Sakura down there?"

"No, of course not," she hissed at him, trying to maintain her temper, because the last thing they needed was an argument amongst themselves. "I'm saying we go back to Eriol-kun's summer house – we do what we planned on doing this whole time and do some research. Maybe we'll be able to find something on him – who he is, what his weaknesses are, what Clow used before to defeat him."

"That could take days!" he bellowed. "And there's no knowing if we'll be able to find any of that information. How do we even know if Clow defeated him? He sealed himself willingly into that dimension – Clow never banished him there."

Meiling caught his gaze and held it. She said to him seriously, "What do you think he's been waiting all these years to do to Clow? Give him a hug? Clow _must've _defeated him in something, or else why would he want to harm people he thinks are close to him?"

Then, Tomoyo's irritated voice rang out in the darkness, some feet away with Eriol leaning heavily on her shoulder. Kero, in his smaller form in case some people happened to be looking out their window, sat on his shoulder and attempted to inconspicuously help him stay upright.

"I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but we could really use your help over here!" she ground out.

With one look between the rest of his friends and the well where Sakura was being held prisoner, Syaoran gave a firm sigh. That was how he found himself back at Eriol's house, doing what he felt was next to nothing. Though he was told to look in his attic for the other journals of Clow, he wasn't able to get much reading done. It seemed like such a silly thing to do – read, while the person he cared for most in the whole world rotted away in another dimension – he couldn't possibly focus with that on his mind.

When he reached the top of the stairs and entered Eriol's bedroom, he found his friend sitting on the edge of his bed in plain pajamas, a journal opened in his hands. Tomoyo sat next to him, massaging his back to get rid of the remaining soreness. In the corner, Kero meditated quietly in a sitting position in mid-air, while Meiling paced in front of the window, a journal also in her hands.

Sighing, Syaoran walked over to the bedside table, took the only other journal that wasn't being read, and turned to a random page. He read silently, attempting to actually concentrate on the words and absorb all of it. But hours had passed since they'd left Sakura – night had turned into day and yet it felt like a year had lapsed. Every minute that passed with her imprisoned in another dimension was a minute of pure worry and anxiety.

Suddenly Syaoran just couldn't control himself. The gravity of the situation weighed too heavily upon him – so heavily in fact, that he literally felt like he was being crushed.

He threw the book down onto the floor, grabbing the attention of everyone else in the room.

"This is absurd," he exclaimed. "This whole thing is God damn ridiculous!"

Tomoyo looked up from her massaging and stared. "Three people vying for Sakura-chan's love and attention? I don't know, Li-kun. Everything seems pretty normal to me."

He turned on the girl that called herself Sakura's best friend and glared. "You think this is funny? You think that she's having a vacation down there? Well, Daidouji, I'm glad you think so lightly of the situation that you can afford to be so sarcastic about it, but not all of us have that luxury!"

Eriol closed his book and rubbed his forehead. "Don't take your temper out on her, Syaoran."

"She's not taking this seriously and it's _her_ best friend that's been taken prisoner in another dimension!"

"Sakura-chan is _fine_," Tomoyo insisted, standing and crossing the bedroom. "I'm not worried about her because I know she's safe."

"But how do you know?" Syaoran asked, sounding desperate to know the answer. "How do you know he hasn't hurt her?"

Tomoyo raised her eyebrows at him to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "Didn't you hear him?" she asked. "The man who took her – the way he spoke to her, looked at her… he's half in love with her. He's not going to hurt her – I know it."

Syaoran lifted his half lowered jaw and didn't attempt to argue anymore on the matter. That was exactly what he needed – another man having feelings for the girl he loved. At least he could find comfort in the fact that the man he'd left her with wouldn't be harming her in the meantime.

"Just read your journal," Meiling said, the fatigue evident in her voice. All of them, except for Eriol, had been awake for the majority of the night. It was all very clear in their faces and actions that sleep had evaded them for quite some time, and they all knew it would continue to do so until they had finally rescued Sakura.

Syaoran stared at the leather bound book that lay down at his feet. "No."

She frowned at her cousin. "Just pick it up and read, Syaoran. We don't have any other choice. These are the only things that could possibly give us some answers, and—"

"_What_ answers?" he exploded, throwing his hands in the air. "There are no answers!"

"Syaoran, don't say that," Eriol said firmly. "We still have many more pages to go. A clue could be on its way."

"Why are we kidding ourselves!" he asked incredulously. "There's nothing in these journals! The first two we had with us in London had no answers, the three that we have right now will have nothing, either. I don't want to waste any more time – I want to go back to the damn well and get Sakura back!"

"This was your idea in the first place, kid," Kero said monotonously, still in his sitting position. "You were the one who wanted us to read these so badly. You know, the research and all."

"That was before Sakura was _taken prisoner in another dimension_," he practically hissed. "I wanted to read these journals to find out who was seeking Clow and harming us in our sleep – now that I know who it is, these journals are useless to me."

Kero flew up to him so that he was level with his face. "All right. That, I understand. But that man, whoever he was – he was powerful. If there's even a small mention of him in Clow's journals, maybe we could—"

"There is NOTHING!" Syaoran thundered, wondering how many more times he would have to repeat himself in different words. He took the books out of Meiling and Eriol's hands and threw them across the room, where they hit the wall and fell lamely onto the floor.

"Syaoran!" Meiling shouted.

"What, Meiling? You want to read some more pointless entries about how Clow spent his day, or how he worked on his garden or had a successful afternoon of meditation? That's all he frigging writes about! That, and the woman he claimed to have loved who he _also_ banished to another dimension!"

They all stared at him, understanding where the rage was coming from. They had tried staying positive for him, had tried calming him down by motivating him to read. But it had become obvious that the only thing that would soothe him was getting all of his anger out at once.

"If I have to read another word about his precious Soo Yung, I'm going to go crazy, I swear." He huffed like a train, ready to go full speed ahead. He wasn't even talking about how pointless it was to continue reading the journals – he was insulting the very content of them. "We get it – you liked the girl! How many times does he have to mention her eyes and hair and water magic!"

"Syaoran, that's enough," Meiling said quietly.

Ignoring her, he continued on his tangent. "Wasn't it obvious to the guy that he was losing her, anyway? She was starting to fall for another man! It's _literally_ painful to have to read how he was becoming second place to that other—"

"Hold on a second," Eriol cut in sharply, raising his hand.

Syaoran stopped in mid-sentence, looking as though he was literally choking on the words that would have followed, had he not been interrupted. He swallowed thickly and took a breath. There was an odd twinkle in Eriol's eye, one that he'd often seen when an idea formed in his brilliant mind. "What is it, Hiiragizawa?"

"Clow…" he started, his eyes narrowed as he slowly began to develop the thought. "He… he really did write about Soo Yung and that other man quite a lot, didn't he?"

Syaoran nodded emphatically. "Yeah, he did. And I'm sick of it – I don't give a damn about Clow's love life, I'm trying to _save_ a life here, not learn more about his adventures with—"

"Syaoran, ease up," Eriol said impatiently, worried that he might lose his train of thought if Syaoran continued to speak any more. "You read about them early on, didn't you? In the first journal you read?"

He nodded slowly, not yet understanding how on earth any of this was relevant. "Yeah… in London, I read the entry aloud with Sakura." He reminisced momentarily at the memory of sitting close to her at the coffee table and feeling uncomfortable as he read the particularly romantic entry with her at his side.

"And… you've read about it quite about in this new journal?"

He nodded some more.

"So have I," Meiling chimed, bending to pick up the journal she had been reading and holding it up. "A lot of entries mention them both."

"In mine as well…" Eriol breathed as he continued to think. After a short pause, he looked up and took turns making eye contact with everyone. When they didn't seem to catch on, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you think, maybe… that's who is keeping Sakura-san in the well?"

Tomoyo scrunched up her eyebrows. "The man that Soo Yung was starting to fall in love with? You think he's the one in the well?"

Eriol shrugged. "Is that so crazy? Maybe that's why he's furious with Clow. Maybe that's why he feels defeated – because she chose Clow over him. I mean, that was her choice, wasn't it? If you guys told the story right, she waited in that dimension for Clow, even after he banished her, so she could tell him she loved him."

Syaoran wasn't sure if the theory was even close to correct, but it was a start. He began to pace suddenly, trying to work up more ideas that might corroborate with Eriol's theory. However, it seemed that his corroboration was unnecessary. Immediately Kero was in the air, flying towards them with a pensive look about his face.

"You might be a damn genius, chief," he started, sounding eager to keep talking. "Now that I think about it… that whole relationship between Clow and Soo Yung – or Madoushi, whatever – it ended badly. I remember… they were together, but she fell for that other guy – she fell for him hard. If Clow was telling the truth, and if my memory still serves me correctly… it was that guy that influenced her!"

"Influenced her?" Meiling wondered, confused. "What do you mean?"

Kero was practically zooming in circles as he rattled off the story, feeling like he was getting closer and closer to the discovery they so badly needed. "The whole reason Clow put aside his feelings for her and banished her in the water dimension was because she began to abuse her powers! She started to use them for the wrong reasons because the other man that she fell for taught her how to. He made her believe that being powerful and mighty was the most important thing in the world! But in the end, she still chose to be with Clow. She wanted to rule the world with him."

"What else do you know about him?" Syaoran urged, knowing that this wasn't just a theory anymore – it was what they had been looking for all along, and the more they found out about the mystery man, the better. "What else can you tell us?"

Kero stopped flying around them and sat on the side table, back in a meditative sitting position. He put both hands on his head as he attempted to extract every last memory of the man from his mind. It was a few agonizing moments of silence before he spoke again.

"I think his magic was from shadows."

Syaoran inhaled sharply upon hearing the words.

"This is the guy!" he exclaimed. "I know it! His dark magic, those black bursts of energy – it was shadows, I'm _sure_ of it! He's the one we're looking for!"

He stood and picked up his coat, which had been strewn across the floor. He grabbed the doorknob in a hurry and was halfway out of the room when Meiling called out, "Syaoran, wait! Where are you going?"

He looked back at them incredulously, as if the answer was obvious. "Back to the well, of course! We've found out who he is to Clow and what magic he wields – that's all I need to know, so I'm going back."

"Don't be stupid," Tomoyo reproved. "That's hardly anything to go on! We haven't even found out if there's any way to beat him!"

Syaoran paused. Tomoyo was right – knowing the source of his magic and the role he played in Clow's life was not the same as having the key to defeating him. But… as wild as it was, it seemed to him at the moment that maybe there wasn't a need for a physical defeat. Perhaps the real defeat could be gained in simply… talking to him?

Perhaps, all he needed to do was take a… "Sakura" type of approach to the situation. It was stupid, and the more he thought of it, the crazier it seemed. So crazy, in fact… that it might actually work.

Slowly he asked, "What is his name?"

It was as though Eriol could read his descendant's mind. With a single brow raised, he answered, "Syaoran, if you find out his name, it's still not enough. I know you're eager to save Sakura, but there's more to know than who he is, what his magic is, and sure as hell more to it than his name."

Syaoran glared and said once more, "His name, Hirragizawa. What is it?"

Sighing, Eriol caught the journal that Meiling tossed him and began to flip through it. He stopped somewhere in the middle and scrolled the length of the page with his index finger.

He stopped when he spotted what he was looking for. "Masaru," he said. "His name is Masaru. There – now just because you know what to call him, you think you can defeat him?"

Syaoran inhaled slowly, wrapping his mind around the name of the man that held Sakura captive.

"Masaru," he repeated, trying it on for size. He set his face with a deep frown and glare and said, "Well, Masaru. I hope you're ready for Round Two."

_**xxxxxx**_

With the night covering them yet again in its shadowy veil, Syaoran, Eriol and Kero stood in another protective bubble, while Tomoyo and Meiling waited nearby. They found themselves standing before the well again, only this time about ten feet further from where they had originally stood the other night. They did nothing but stare at it, unsure of what to do.

They were torn concerning what the plan of attack should be. Syaoran was more than gung-ho about the whole thing. If he had just gone by himself, he would've just dived in without another thought. But as per usual, Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling had other ideas.

"I'm telling you guys," Syaoran insisted, "there isn't any need for this protective shield!"

"You can't be too sure," Tomoyo said, eyeing Eriol. He had only just recovered from his fever, and having to be back at the place that caused it was a worrying matter.

"When we leapt out of the well, there were no protective barriers," Syaoran reiterated for what felt like to him, the hundredth time. "We had nothing covering us – and I didn't feel sick!"

"Maybe because you were already feeling ill after being thrown around?" Meiling suggested. "Maybe you didn't notice the fever because of that?"

"No, no, no," Syaoran groaned, growing more and more impatient as they argued about an issue that he _knew_ he was right about. "I swear, he's not radiating those negative vibes anymore – Keroberos, you didn't feel sick when we got out of the well, either, right?"

"Well, no, but… maybe the brat has a point. Maybe I didn't notice it because of all the stuff that was going on…"

Syaoran released a frustrated growl and shook his head. "This is stupid – let me show you. _I'll_ step out and you'll see."

He made a movement to exit the bubble but was immediately stopped by Meiling.

"Syaoran, wait!"

He sighed angrily at her. "We've waited long enough, Meiling. We already postponed this trip until night fell so we wouldn't be seen by anyone – don't ask me to wait any longer." She frowned at him, which she usually did when he was in the right. Sighing again, he continued, "Oh, relax. If I start to feel even a little bit bad, I'll just run back in here, okay?"

"But," Tomoyo started, "the sensation is heavy when you're near the well. What if it hits you too hard and you get really sick? Like before?"

He rolled his eyes again. "Then I'll be wrong, and we just do what we did last time. You take me as far away from the well as possible so I can recover and we'll start all over. Deal?"

Meiling glared at him briefly and folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. "Fine, do whatever you want."

He thanked her with a nod and squared his shoulders. Slowly he lifted one foot and brought it over the barrier. With hardly any fear at all, he stepped completely out and stood before them, arms outstretched.

"There," he said. "You see? I'm fine. Totally fine, not faking – I swear. Come on out, Hiiragizawa, Keroberos. Feel for yourself."

They did as he told them and got rid of the bubble. They were glad to see that he was right – there was nothing making them feel ill or tired at all. There was a distinct aura of magic, though. The same thing Eriol had felt after tricking Masaru into giving them entrance into the dimensional tunnel. It was like static electricity in the air that only the three of them could feel.

"Now if you don't mind," Syaoran continued, "I'm going back in the shadow realm." He began pacing towards the well, looking over his shoulder as he gave the rest of his instructions. "Hiiragizawa, Keroberos, follow after me. Meiling, Tomoyo, I need the both of you to stay here this time."

"Oh, please let me come!" Tomoyo pleaded. "Come on, Li-kun. No one's even wearing a costume. Do you have any idea how painful that is for me? At least let me come to make sure Sakura-chan hasn't gone insane and that she comes out safely. I promise I won't get in the way."

Eriol shook his head firmly. "I'm sorry, Tomoyo. Not this time. Don't make me put a magical seal on the well to keep you two from following after us – I want to be able to trust you." He was staring directly at her with a firm stare. The gaze was so intense it made Syaoran think that the trust between them that he was talking of perhaps referred to something more.

When Tomoyo didn't answer, Eriol looked to Meiling. "You as well, Meiling-san. You have to stay and wait here with Tomoyo."

Meiling looked rather slighted that he too was in support of her exclusion. Huffing the way she often did when she didn't get her way, she crossed her arms in unison with Tomoyo, the both of them clearly unhappy with the decision that they not come along. But they understood that Sakura's safety needed to be their number one priority – if they had two additional people to worry about, it would make their mission that much more difficult to accomplish.

Syaoran nodded after sensing the resignation of the girls. "All right, everybody. I'll go down fi—"

He felt his forehead make contact with something hard and he stumbled backwards, feeling as though he had just been shoved. When he regained his balance, he stared in confusion at what stood before him, realizing that there was absolutely nothing there that he could have walked into – so why did he stagger backwards?

"What the…" he grumbled, irritated by the mishap. He walked forward again, thinking that perhaps it was just a fluke – but he found himself unable from going forward once more, barred by an invisible force from going ahead.

"What the hell is this?" he asked indignantly. "Why can't I get closer to the well?"

Eriol furrowed his brows and stepped forward quickly, wondering if Syaoran was just imagining things. Not wanting his forehead to smack into anything solid, he held his hand out before him to feel whatever it was that Syaoran might have run into. When his hand made contact with the invisible barrier, he frowned, realizing that there was indeed another obstacle they needed to get past.

Impatiently, Syaoran said, "Keroberos, try to fly through."

"I'm not falling for that one, kid."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and snapped, "I'm serious! Just try to see if you can go through."

"If you and Hiiragizawa can't, what makes you think I can?" Kero retorted, leaning back into a mid-air sitting position with his hands behind his small head. "I know you just want to see me zoom straight into a wall."

Syaoran released a growl that was a mixture of frustration and annoyance.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now!"

"Calm down, Syaoran," Meiling appealed, knowing her cousin was probably about to lose his mind. It seemed like every time they came close to solving a problem, a new one arose that kept them from resolving the previous. If he did end up going mad, she certainly did not blame him.

"How can I calm down? We are _this close_ to getting Sakura back and now we're stuck behind some invisible barrier that we don't know how to break!"

He lunged at the air, knowing there was a wall before him somewhere, and it was a wall that he badly wanted to punch. He roared ferociously in a kind of anger that none of them had ever seen in him and beat at the barrier keeping him from Sakura, thrusting his fists and slamming into it for all he was worth. They watched him go on like that for a minute or two before the punches came less and less after the other. He was clearly tiring after putting so much energy into beating up a wall that wouldn't be moved nor broken.

When he got the last few punches out of his system, he kept his hands in fists and pushed hard against the barrier – not to move it (though he prayed that might work, too), but to keep his balance. He felt like collapsing in defeat. Bowing his head, he let out a long, shaky sigh and shook his head.

"What do we do?" he asked again, much calmer this time, but also more subdued.

"Maybe," Meiling began cautiously, "there is something in Clow's journals that could tell us how to…"

"_No_," Syaoran said immediately, his back still turned to them. "I can't go back to Hiiragizawa's estate to sit and read some more. I'll lose my mind. Isn't there anything else we can do? Anything that we can _actively_ do?"

There was a long silence that followed after his question. Not even Kero spoke to lighten the mood with a joke or sarcastic comment. In the frighteningly long moment that proceeded, the only thing to happen was the darkening of the skies as strange clouds loomed before the moon, ridding practically the entire area of all light.

"Well…" Tomoyo began quietly. "There _is_ one thing we could do."

Syaoran turned around, eyeing her suspiciously because of the strange tone in her voice.

"This happened last time, too," she explained as the entire group set their eyes on her, anxiously awaiting her suggestion. "I told you before – when Sakura-chan and I tried to get back into the well from last time, Li-kun, your okaa-sama…"

"My okaa-sama?" he repeated, realizing where she was going with the rest of her suggestion. "You want us to ask my _okaa-sama_ for help?"

"She broke through the barrier for us last time! And let's face it, Li-kun, she probably could've painted her nails at the same time. Your okaa-sama is _powerful_. She could help us!"

"My okaa-sama has aged almost twenty years since then – she's _old_."

"So?" Meiling chimed, coming forward and deciding not to let Tomoyo take all the heat from Syaoran. "She is strong – she did it last time, she could do it for us now. Come on – don't you want to save Kinomoto-san?"

Syaoran pursed his lips and looked to Eriol. He could see it in his eyes – he was clearly siding with the girls over the issue. And he did as well – sort of. The only thing that kept him from agreeing to Tomoyo's idea was the fact that he did not want his family involved. However… if it meant assuring Sakura's safety, then getting his family tangled into the whole mess was something he just had to do.

He put one hand over his face and held the other out to Meiling, his opened palm waiting. "You've got my okaa-sama on speed dial, right?"

Meiling fished out her cell phone from her back pocket with an unimpressed look on her face. "You're going to give her a call? At this hour? You're not going to bother with a visit?"

"There is nothing that I have to say to her that can't be said over the phone," he answered, his voice still flat.

Meiling complied reluctantly, hitting the speed dial number that connected to the Li home phone. She held it first to her own ear to make sure that it was ringing, and then handed it to Syaoran, who took it without a word. He put it to the side of his face and stepped away from the group, readying himself to ask his mother for one of the biggest favors he would ever need in his life.

Only a few more rings were heard on the other end before one of the Li family servants promptly answered the phone. Though groggy from the sleep Syaoran had just interrupted, the maid was still able to politely ask who was calling. She recognized his voice right away. He only had time to apologize for waking her; in the next second she was handing the phone over to his mother, whom he didn't even ask for yet.

When he heard his mother's regal voice, it was though he hadn't just bothered her in the middle of the night. She sounded so relaxed and calm; she might as well have been just leaving the spa. But there was hardly ever a time when she wasn't speaking in such a tone. Syaoran wondered why he was so surprised by it, and he realized he hadn't called her or any of his sisters in the last three weeks, since he traveled back to Japan and started the journey with Sakura and Tomoyo.

"I'm sorry for waking you," he said, before starting right away with the favor.

"I'm happy to hear from my only son at any time of the day," Yelan told him, sounding not at all perturbed. "We haven't heard from you in quite a few weeks. Meiling has had to update us on how you've been doing since you wouldn't call."

He closed his eyes momentarily, feeling the guilt wash over him. "I'm really sorry about that," he answered. "I shouldn't have forgotten to give you and the girls a call. I've just been busy. I've been traveling…"

"Oh?" she asked interestedly. "Where has your work taken you now, Syaoran? Somewhere nice, I hope."

He bit his lip nervously before answering. "I'm home."

Yelan paused for a moment so long that Syaoran wondered if they had lost connection.

"Home?" she repeated. "You're here, then. In China."

He ran a hand through his hair and stiffened his shoulders. "I came back because there has been a magical spirit stalking me, Hirragizawa and—" his breath caught before saying her name, knowing that this was where his mom would start to get _really_ curious. "And… Sakura."

There was another agonizingly long pause on the other end.

"It appears that on the regular phone calls you remember to give us, you leave a thing or two out."

"I…" he sighed, "I didn't want to worry any of you."

And the next thing he knew, he was spilling his guts out to his mother. He told her everything in excruciating detail, all in the span of about five minutes. He did, however, conveniently leave out the fact that he still had feelings for Sakura – though if he knew his mother, then there was probably no need to. Yelan, like the rest of the people in his life, knew full well that he was still in love with her.

"Take a breath, Syaoran," she advised, as soon as he took a moment to pause. "I understand what's going on. I am aware of Masaru – he's been briefly mentioned in the clan before, as one of Clow's foes."

"He has Sakura," he said again. He probably said that particular sentence twenty times, just to get it through his mom's head just how bad the situation was. "He has her as his hostage in that shadow dimension, and I have to get her out. Please, okaa-sama, I need your help."

He could hear her take a long breath before answering him. "Of course I will help you, Syaoran. I care dearly for Sakura-san as well. I would do anything for the both of you."

He wanted to cry in relief. Already walking to the car so he could hop in the driver's seat and speed all the way to his mother's house to pick her up and bring her to the well, he was stopped short upon hearing what she had to say next.

"But I can't, Syaoran. I'm sorry, but I can't. My magic isn't as it used to be – I'm weak."

Syaoran still wanted to cry – but for an entirely different reason. He _knew_ she was too old to help – he had been right about it all along.

"What do I do?" he begged. "Help me think of something, okaa-sama, _please_."

"I don't think I need to," she told him earnestly.

Syaoran's forehead creased in confusion. "I don't understand what you mean."

She spoke to him slowly and softly – motherly. It was a tone of voice he hadn't heard from her in a very, very long time.

"There is a group of people you can ask. If I joined them, it wouldn't be just me. We would be strong enough."

He was ready to ask her who on earth she was referring to – but the need for it suddenly evaporated into thin air. The thought of asking the Li clan for help had always been at the very, very, _very_ back of his mind. He had come to them first, so as not to bother Sakura with his problems, but they literally slammed the door shut in his face. They wouldn't agree to see him. That was when he decided that asking them for help in the situation would only happen if he were desperate.

And, at the moment, he felt incredibly desperate.

"Thanks, okaa-sama."

He could practically feel her nodding serenely on the other line. "Let me know what you decide."

But like before, when she was helping him to make a difficult decision much like this one, she knew what her son would choose to do.

Syaoran hung up the phone and handed it back to Meiling. He began to walk back to the car as they followed behind him in wonder, probably confused because their eavesdropping hadn't worked so well.

"What now?" Tomoyo questioned.

"Where are we going?" Meiling also queried, sounding just as curious. Eriol was the only one who remained silent, knowing that Syaoran would speak when he was well and ready.

"Call the clan, Meiling," he instructed firmly, sounding the most confident they'd heard him in the last week.

All their eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets – even Kero's.

"The _clan_?" Meiling spluttered in astonishment. "Why on earth would you want me to call—?"

"Call them," he interrupted resolutely. "And tell them I'm paying them a visit. They can bar the doors like they did the last time I tried to speak to them or they can get dressed and wait for me at that long table they always sit at, looking sinister. You can also say that they had better pick the latter or I'll be breaking the door down while they're still in their pajamas."

He left them gaping after his back as he continued to take long strides to the car. They looked to one another before shrugging their shoulders and following after him.

Meiling flipped her phone open and poised her thumb over the clan's speed dial number. "This will be one interesting phone call…"

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes: **Feces will hit the fan, guys!

I am working my tail off to finish the story. I am so busy with work and school that I literally can only work on it once a week for a few hours! I will do my very best to make sure that I can keep my word and only keep you guys waiting for two weeks! I am fully prepared for the hate reviews if it takes me longer!

As always, reviews are wholly appreciated! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last few days of September.

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	14. A Sacrifice

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter fourteen!

**Casting Shadows**

_A Sacrifice_

"Hello?" Sakura asked, scanning the wide room for a sign of Masaru. "Are you… are you there?"

The man she had spent hours alone with in the shadow realm materialized, somehow looking both solemn and happy that she had called for him. His arms were folded, once more tucked in the opposite sleeves, and levitated, as per usual. He stared at her, still in a sitting position with her knees tucked in to her chest. With a strange smile on his face, he waited for her to speak again.

"I was – I was wondering where you went," she said.

He gestured to the surrounding area, blanketed in darkness. "I often let myself blend into the shadows."

She nodded in understanding and said nothing more. The silence between them stretched into a minute as Sakura bit her lower lip, thinking of what to say next. She was growing steadily bored, the longer she remained in his dimension. The only thing that kept her from going insane was the thought of her friends. So long as they got out all right, she knew they would never leave her alone with Masaru forever – whether it took them a week, a month or a year, they would come for her.

Or rather, _Syaoran_ would come for her. She had all the faith in the world that he would rescue her from the shadow dimension, no matter what it took. She would hold her breath for his arrival for as long as it took.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked softly.

"Anything," he answered indulgently.

She peered at him curiously, still somewhat irked by the last time she had asked him this question, when he had not answered properly.

"Who were you talking about that drew her magic from water?"

She was sure she knew – especially after just discussing her before they made the trip that got her stuck in the well, that he had meant Madoushi. But she had to know how they even knew one another. It would help if she could learn more about him – perhaps learn his weakness if she got him talking enough. Also, the conversation would keep her mind from growing even more bored.

"There was a woman I once knew," he began slowly. "She was deeply in love with another man."

Sakura wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Was this him answering her question?

"She went by many names. Some called her Madoushi… others called her The Sorceress. I simply called her Soo Yung."

It was no surprise to her, especially since she learned that she was right after all, but Sakura gasped anyway. He ignored it and continued.

"When I met her, I knew right away that she and I were right for each other. She was my exact likeness – in manner and power. She had so much of it… but her lover forced her to tame it. To _hide_ it."

Sakura could no longer remain silent. "Clow Reed," she interrupted. "You're talking about Clow Reed, aren't you?"

His soft gaze wasn't so soft for much longer. As he went on telling his story, and most particularly right after Sakura mentioned Clow, his eyes grew stormy and dark. He said nothing, only set his jaw and breathed slowly.

"Clow never forced her to hide her magic," she reasoned, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "He taught her how hone it – to _control_ it."

"He made her suppress it!" Masaru boomed, clearly angry that Sakura was attempting to defend Clow's actions of so long ago.

"No," she beseeched, "no, no! You've got it all wrong. Clow Reed cared for her, he didn't want her to use her magic for the wrong reasons… but then she started to."

"Is that how you see it, then?" he asked her with a scoff. "Using her magic to its full potential – not hiding it like Clow wanted and accepting her power for what it was? That was using it for the wrong reasons?"

Sakura opened her mouth to rebuttal, but she knew she could never get him to see her point of view, as hard as she tried. His judgment was far too clouded by the anger he had for Clow and the inner turmoil still within him after losing Soo Yung. Years and years of being the sole inhabitant of the shadow realm had turned his mind into a dark one.

"And he _punished her for it_," he hissed. "He took her away from me forever when he sealed her spirit into that water dimension."

Sakura offered nothing, sure that whatever she said next, whatever it was, would only anger him more.

"All these years I've been waiting to exact my revenge upon Clow for taking away what I loved most," he whispered, staring into the shadows rather than at Sakura. "He left me in the shadows… all these years I've been alone with only them to keep me company, doing nothing but trying to improve my magic to make sure that when he and I finally met again, I would come out victorious."

Sakura watched him move his head slowly so that he was no longer staring into the darkness, but right at her.

"And after waiting all these years… I found you, instead."

She smiled weakly at him. "Seems like sort of a waste, doesn't it?"

He gave her a blank look. "What do you mean, flower?"

She shrugged. "I mean… you've been down here all this time, perfecting your magic and it turns out you've got nothing to use it on."

He smiled, not realizing that she was actually trying to get him to say something that she, or Syaoran who she knew would be there eventually, could possibly use against him.

"I wouldn't say so. You're here now."

She stiffened her smile and forced herself not to cringe. "Right…"

"I've made you a dress made purely of shadows… I could do much more than that, you know."

She cleared her throat and tried to look as innocent as she could. "Is there anything that you can't do? Anything beyond your magic that you can't accomplish?"

He floated around her, a contemplative look about his face as he thought of how to answer. It was a short moment later that he broke out into a smile, as if wanting to laugh.

"Of course not, flower. I am extremely powerful. There is nothing that can defeat me – not even Clow."

Sakura frowned and pretended to not care as he chuckled quietly to himself at the thought of ruining his enemy. Soon the laughter faded and she was sure he blended once more into the shadows, leaving her all alone again. She sighed heavily and fingered the dark material that she unfortunately still wore, frowning.

She realized, however, that she wasn't _completely_ alone. To keep her company, she had the faces of Kero, Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol, and Syaoran in her mind, smiling at her and reassuring her that they were on their way to come and take her away from the God forsaken shadow realm.

Also with her, she had the nagging voice of Masaru in her head, laughing as he boasted of his power, and along with it, another voice that came from deep within her that told her: _he is lying_.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran sat in the passenger's seat of the car, staring out the window sombrely. From next to him Eriol stared as well, and the girls with Kero in the back were also leaned forward, looking out at the same view that Syaoran had been watching for about two minutes.

"It's so… ominous," Tomoyo said quietly.

"You say ominous, I say creepy," Kero supplied.

"You can say that again," Meiling said with an exaggerated shiver, shaking her head and rubbing her own shoulders. "I hate coming to this place."

The car went silent again and they all returned to staring. Finally Eriol asked, "So… are you actually going inside or what?"

Syaoran had so much nerve on the drive over to the clan's headquarters, but he lost just about all of it as soon as they pulled up in the circular drive way. He breathed in slowly and made sure to keep Sakura's face at the front of mind. She would definitely give him the courage he needed to confront the worst of his family members.

"Okay," he breathed tensely, "I'm going in."

Eriol undid his seatbelt and followed him out of the car. "I'm coming, too. It might help if they see Clow's reincarnation with you, might persuade them in lending you a hand. Anyway, I know you could use some moral support."

Meiling rolled her eyes. "Hell, I might as well go inside, too. They probably know I've been with you the whole time, anyway."

Kero flew out of the window and perched himself on Meiling's shoulder. "I hope you didn't leave a crack open in the car for me to breathe because I'm not staying here. I'm coming, too."

Tomoyo stood immediately and exclaimed, "Well, I'm not going to wait out here for you guys all by myself! Besides, I want to make sure that the old geezers agree to help save Sakura-chan."

Syaoran groaned loudly and felt like pulling out fistfuls of his hair. "If I wanted to be humiliated by the elders in front of all of you, I would have invited you all inside with me."

"Sorry, Li-kun," Tomoyo said cheerfully, leading the way up the large stairs that led to the door, "there's no getting rid of us."

They climbed up the steps together, feeling as though they had just set foot on Mount Everest. After reaching the top, they stopped at the big double doors that separated them from the people that could help engineer Sakura's rescue. Syaoran reminded himself that facing them again was all for her – and that made the entire trip to see them worth it.

He pushed them open, his entire "entourage" following closely behind him. It felt like he had travelled back in time. There they were again – the same, grouchy, old men that forced him to break up with the only girl he would ever love, dressed in the sinister black robes and sitting along the wide table. Instead of a spotlight trained in the center before them, the entire room was lit by candle light.

And, to all of their surprise, they saw standing off to the side a girl dressed in a silk black robe, her long hair woven in a side pony tail. She was staring at Syaoran as he walked to the center of the room.

"Jia," he said in both disbelief and anger. "I asked you not to tell them that I was here!"

She looked about herself helplessly. "I never said a word to them, Xiao-lang. I swear – I didn't!"

"Silence, Xiao-lang," said the elder in the middle. Of course, the first thing that they would say to him in six years would be to shut up. "Your fiancée had all the right in the world to inform us of your return to China."

"I never said anything to them," she insisted, not only to Syaoran but to the rest of the group. "The day we ran into each other – they summoned me here and wouldn't stop interrogating me. They worked it out for themselves, Xiao-lang, I swear. They already knew you were here! I didn't even want be here for your visit with them – but they said I had to be here to see you."

They were smiling at him smugly. "The time you've spent away from China has made you underestimate us, Xiao-lang." The smiles turned into scowls. "_Nothing_ happens in this place without us knowing about it first."

Of course – the Li clan was so insanely large with members of it everywhere around the world and most abundantly within China. Someone was bound to have spotted him and told the elders of his arrival. He returned their scowl readily. There were a number of things he was just dying to say to the twelve men behind the table, starting with, "Jia is _not_my fiancée. Why is she even here? She has nothing to do with this. Let her leave."

"You have no say in what she does or does not do, Xiao-lang. Just because you were foolish enough to reject the marriage, does not mean we do not still include her as a Li."

Syaoran shook his head in confusion and turned to Meiling. "What are they talking about?"

Meiling came out from behind the rest of the group, cringing because she knew she would probably get a scolding from both Syaoran and the elders. "I – I never told you, Syaoran, but… after you emancipated yourself, they sort of… well, took her into the family. She lives on Li clan property in her own compound. She's like their adopted daughter. They did it in case you… you know, in case you ever came back."

Jia nodded. "My family and I thought it was an honour to still be thought of as part of the family – and don't get me wrong. It is…" she explained. "They wouldn't let me see Meiling, though. They think she's… well, a bad influence.

"And that she is!" the elders said harshly. "Instead of having to find out on our own, we should have found out from the both of you. We have already spoken to Jia, but Meiling – we will have words with you another time. You _will_ be disciplined."

She sighed and nodded, then bowed.

"And you there," they continued, craning their head to have a look at Tomoyo. "Who are you?"

Tomoyo came forward to introduce herself but Eriol stopped her and blocked her from their view, as if wanting to shield her. "Her name is Daidouji Tomoyo, and she is none of your concern."

The elder paused momentarily and leaned back in his chair, as if processing the image of Eriol, standing before them all.

"Hiiragizawa," he said slowly. "What brings you here today?"

He looked in Syaoran's direction. "I'm here to support my friend, that's all."

"Your friend," he repeated interestedly. He stared a few seconds longer at Eriol, then at Syaoran, then at their entire party as a whole. He seemed to frown deeply simultaneously with all eleven other elders and then asked, unimpressed, "Why have you woken us at this hour? Not for a happy reunion, I assume."

Syaoran shook his head firmly. "No. I came here because I need your help."

They scoffed. "_You_ need _our_ help?"

"There is a spirit sealed in a well – he goes by the name of Masaru. He is a foe of Clow's, and he has taken Sakura captive in his dimension."

"Sakura?" they asked, and if Syaoran could see past the shadow of their hoods, he was positive he would've been able to see their furrowed brows. "The Card Mistress? He has taken her captive?"

He nodded. "A month ago, I had a problem and I came to you for help. When you turned me away, I turned to Sakura. She came through for me when you – my own family – couldn't. We went from Tomoeda to London to Hong Kong, looking for answers. And our journey brought us to that well, where she was taken by the spirit named Masaru, just last night, and I need you to help us get her out of there." He added tightly at the end, "_Please_."

The elders didn't respond for a long time. It was as though they could have a group discussion without even opening their mouths; like they could all consider his plea for help on their own and somehow all come up with the same answer to give him.

Finally the elder in the center leaned forward again and brought his hands together in front of him. Indifferently he said, "This is the same girl who gave us problems a decade ago, is it not?"

Syaoran looked down at his feet, knowing where they were going with the query. "Yes, but—"

"And the same girl who you abandoned us for?"

"I didn't abandon you, I _escaped_ from you," Syaoran snapped. The room echoed with his anguished voice, seemed to get smaller and more awkward as the silence stretched into forever. If his claim had any effect on the elders, it didn't show.

The elders spoke at last, giving him their decision. "This girl that you have always been so concerned with is still of no matter to us. You may leave now. All of you."

Syaoran's jaw dropped in shock. He knew the elders could be callous sometimes – even cruel, but he had no idea that they could be so heartless.

"Her name is _Sakura_," he fumed, coming forward as guards standing at the exits took him by the arms. He began to struggle almost immediately and noticed that guards had also begun to shoo his friends out of the room. Most of them had the sense to not touch Eriol, and he was glaring at anyone that even dared reach out in Tomoyo's direction, but they were being forced out of the room all the same – and fast.

"All I'm asking is that you break the barrier surrounding the well where the dimension is in!" Syaoran shouted desperately as more and more guards pulled on him. "I'm not asking any of you to take Masaru on in battle! I'll do it myself, just take the barrier down! Please!"

"Goodbye, Xiao-lang. We'll see you in another six years."

"Please, I'll do anything you ask!" he continued to plead, fighting as hard as he could, because he knew they were his only hope in getting through to Sakura. "I will do _anything you ask_!"

They were already laughing at him and waving the idea of _him_ doing anything for _them_ off with a brisk flick of their hands.

"Please, Xiao-lang. There is nothing that you can do for us that we could possibly want."

He ripped his arm free from one of the guards, and it was all he needed. Quickly he landed a hard punch on the other one restraining him, and whatever he did next to the other three was a complete and literal blur. He had done it so fast that not even Eriol was sure whether he had punched, kicked, or done something else to free himself.

Finally, Syaoran was free to use the last card he had in his deck. "I'm his heir!"

Unfazed by the action going on in the room, the elders looked up at him as if they were just having tea and the fight before them was simply a television show. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm his heir," Syaoran repeated, more confident in his words now. If this was what he had to do in order to get them to help, then he would do it without another thought. "Clow Reed's heir. Hiiragizawa found out some time ago and told me when we were in London. I am his Chinese heir, meant to lead the clan and carry on with his Chinese heritage like you'd always planned."

They were silent, obviously trying to process the fact that they were right in making him the future clan leader after all, instead of some other Li in the family. Chosen by Clow Reed himself to maintain his Chinese legacy? That was certainly news to them.

"Is this true?" they asked cautiously.

Despite feeling very unsure about Syaoran's sudden outburst, Eriol nodded and said the same words he'd told Syaoran. "Clow's memories are never wrong. I've seen it – he is the true heir of Clow."

Meiling and Tomoyo stared at him in worry. They could see what he was trying to do – and it was exactly what he had been trying to avoid, ever since he had learned that he was Clow's heir.

"I will come back to you," Syaoran offered, trying to keep a steady flow of words so as not to bail on the idea that had hatched in his mind. "I will lead the clan, like you wanted me to. I'll even start training again, if you want. But you have to break the barrier surrounding the well, and you _have_ to help me figure out a way to defeat Masaru."

They hardly took any time to consider his offer. The very idea of having someone Clow had chosen himself, leading their clan, was enough to make their mouths water.

"We have your word, Xiao-lang?"

"My _honest_ word," he assured them.

They appeared satisfied, knowing that when a Li made a promise, it was binding.

"We suppose we could work something out with you… on one condition."

He was already making the biggest sacrifice of his life – now they wanted it on their terms? This was so very "elder" of them it made Syaoran want to fall over in aggravation.

When he didn't respond, they told him, "So that we can be sure of your promise – you must start right away. As soon as the girl is saved, you will come back here with us so that we may begin preparations for the ceremony to crown you the new leader of the clan. We cannot risk you going back on your word and abandoning us for her a second time. Then, and only then, will we agree to help you. The decision is yours."

Syaoran wasn't sure whether or not he should have been happy that they didn't want him to through anymore training, or _un_happy because they didn't even want to allow him a few minutes with Sakura afterwards. He then realized that the latter was probably best for him – if he so much as spoke to Sakura after saving her, he probably would never be able to keep his end of the bargain.

"Syaoran…" Meiling started uneasily.

"Li-kun, no, Sakura-chan would never ask you to do this for her!" Tomoyo volunteered.

"They're right," Eriol also agreed, "we can do this without them."

"Yeah, forget them!" Kero snarled, surprising Syaoran with how much he was against the idea. "We don't need their help!"

He couldn't look any of them in the eye. "Yes we do. They'll know how to penetrate the barrier and how to defeat Masaru. I have no choice."

They all began to protest in unison with each other, saying all the same things that he was already telling himself in his head. Even Jia, who was still present, was giving her own hearty disapproval. But they knew just as well as the elders did that he would do anything to save Sakura, even if it meant sacrificing the life he built away from the clan.

He waited for them to quiet, then said without conviction, "I agree to your terms."

The elders smiled victoriously in their seats, pleased that they had regained what they thought they had once lost.

"All right then. Let us waste no more time."

Syaoran barely had any time to grieve over the fact that puppet strings he thought he'd severed forever were once more attached. It appeared that just like him, they wanted to get Sakura out of the well as fast as possible, but both for entirely different reasons.

"So you _can_ breach the magical force field around the well?" he asked quickly.

They looked insulted at his question. "Of course we can, Xiao-lang. With the help of Yelan, however, we will be more powerful. If you want to create as big a gap in the barrier as possible, then she must be present."

He nodded at once and looked over his shoulder to Meiling, who was already making the call. She wondered how exactly to break the news to Syaoran's mother that he had once again signed his life away to the clan.

"My okaa-sama told me that Masaru has been mentioned before in Clow's past?" he asked, wanting to get his answers in a hurry.

The elders nodded solemnly. "He and Clow share a particularly tense history. Much like yourself, Clow had gotten himself tangled with a woman that compromised his destiny of becoming a great magician."

Syaoran stopped himself from answering rudely to them, and waited for the story they were clearly about to delve into.

"Masaru was always envious of Clow. Aside from the woman, Madoushi, he knew Clow was a greater man than him in power and wealth. A magical duel between them was bound to occur. The catalyst for it came in the form of Madoushi's banishment to the water dimension. When Masaru found out, he challenged Clow almost immediately – and just as quickly, he lost. But all the same, he was a powerful sorcerer, Xiao-lang. He has only one weakness. And it is a weakness that if tapped into, can defeat him almost instantly."

Syaoran's ears perked. "Well?" he prompted, trying not to sound impatiently. "What is it?"

It seemed like they wanted to be rolling their eyes. "Is it not obvious, Xiao-lang?"

He shook his head.

"He draws his magic from darkness, Xiao-lang. From _shadows_."

They didn't say anything else. It appeared as though they wanted him to figure this one out for himself.

If there was anything that could possibly counter his dark magic, what would it be? Syaoran thought hard, feeling a little bit like Sakura when her denseness deterred her from coming to an obvious conclusion right away. And then, finally, it came to him. There was only one thing that could battle the darkness – and that was its exact opposite.

"Light," he gasped. "The light can beat him."

"_Lots_of it," they expanded. "It was the Light Card's greatest triumph."

"So all I have to do is tell Sakura to put the Light Card into effect, and we'll be rid of him!" he exclaimed, sure that they had come up with the solution.

"It's not that simple, Xiao-lang," they explained. "You've had this training. Assess the situation like you've been taught. Take all factors into account, and tell us why simply utilizing the Light Card will not work."

They really didn't waste any time, did they? Syaoran frowned and tried to think of all the things that might not allow the Light Card to fully work. Nothing was really clicking, and he wanted more than anything to ask Eriol, who he _knew_ probably already figured it out. He opened his mouth slowly to think aloud, hoping it would help some.

"Well… Masaru has been on his own all these years," he started, hoping he was on the right track. The elders didn't dispute where he started, so he assumed then that he was going in the right direction.

"So…" he continued, thinking before every word, "he must have had time to… to… develop his magic?"

"Also?" they coaxed, sounding even more bored and impatient.

Syaoran sighed and came up with the first thought that came to him, "And… I don't know. It's his home."

They lifted the corners of their mouths into a half smile. "Well, we must hand it to you, Xiao-lang. Even when you're not trying, you still get it right."

He was surprised to hear them say that he was actually correct, but also encouraged to expand on the thought. "It's his home, so… he controls it!" he exclaimed, knowing he was right without being told again. "That entire realm is _his_ domain. His magic – the magic that he's probably been working on for _years_ – could smother the Light Card in an instant!"

The elders confirmed his response with a nod.

Soon the excitement he felt for figuring all the complications out on his own was replaced with confusion.

"Well, if Sakura can't use the Light Card, how are we supposed to destroy him?"

He prayed that they wouldn't make him play this guessing game for much longer. He just wanted answers, and though it felt good to always come with the correct result every time, having to work it out on his own was only wasting his time.

"You must lure him out of the well, Xiao-lang."

He nodded quickly. "All right, fine, I can do that."

"In daylight."

His eyes narrowed and his jaw dropped slightly. "How in the hell am I supposed to lure him out in _daylight_? There is a construction zone in that area! There are shops and boutiques and innocent people _everywhere_. How can I do this without others noticing or blowing our cover? Our magic is supposed to be a secret to outsiders."

They shrugged indifferently. "You really have been away from us for much too long, Xiao-lang. Have you forgotten that the Li clan is one of the wealthiest, most powerful families in China? We control half the things that happen here – sometimes more. If you want that area to be rid of all civilians – then it will be done."

Syaoran began to calm down. "Well, I guess that solves that problem."

"In the meantime, we will wait for the sun to rise." They then gave him a satisfied smile and gestured towards the door. "We will meet you at the well when the sun has reached its highest. You'll be sure to give us the necessary information, yes?"

Syaoran nodded. "I'll leave it with one of your attendants." He then added reluctantly, "And thank you." Instead of waiting for a "you're welcome" from them, he turned on his heel and led the way out of the room, Tomoyo, Meiling, Eriol and Kero following silently behind him.

"Oh, and – be sure to take care of the construction, Xiao-lang," they called after him as an afterthought.

He stopped in his tracks, causing his friends to barrel into one another. Tomoyo yelped at having her foot stepped on and Meiling cursed for walking right into Eriol's strangely solid back. Ignoring them, Syaoran slowly turned once more. "I beg your pardon?"

They stared at him innocently. For once in his life, they weren't trying to humiliate him; they simply did not know that the man contracting the construction of the lot was also the man that was engaged to Sakura. He could see it in their surprisingly clueless eyes that they really had no idea.

"Is there a problem?" they asked.

"Well, no," Syaoran stuttered, feeling trapped. "I – I just thought that… well, aren't you taking care of that? I mean, can't you? I have to prepare and… and…" he trailed off, knowing there wasn't much he could do to make his excuse sound legitimate. There wasn't actually any preparing of any kind that he was going to do – not even training. He felt completely physically and mentally prepared for the pending battle. It was talking to Kaito that he wasn't ready for.

"Only the surrounding businesses," they answered. "There are dozens and dozens of other stores in that area. To reach them at this hour and make the necessary negotiations to keep their stores closed for an entire day will take some time. We'll have to work out bribes and probably have to offer them all of the money they'd be deprived of, and then there is the tedious calculating involved with that… our people can only do so much. Is taking care of the construction zone too much to do?"

He shook his head. "N-no, but…"

"Then what is the problem?"

Syaoran hesitated. "C-couldn't you… just do it?"

They could tell that there was a reason for his apprehension. "We could… but you could tell us why, first."

His shoulders sagged. Of course there would be yet _another_ catch if he wanted them to do something for him.

"Please. You're already going to make calls to everyone else – just make this one of them. I'll pay however much it costs to pay off the construction workers _and_ the man contracting the construction over the lot."

"So adamant on not making this phone call…" they observed, their curiosity peaked. "I wonder why. Tell us, Xiao-lang. Why don't you want to do it yourself?"

Syaoran growled at them, snarling in both anger and annoyance. He was hoping that he could go one entire visit with the elders without being embarrassed or humiliated, but if he admitted why he didn't want to go and make the call to Kaito himself, he would most certainly not get his way. Clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth he said, "Never mind. I'll do it myself."

"No, no, Xiao-lang. Really, now we're intrigued… won't you let us in on this little secret of yours?"

He began to walk to the exit again and immediately his entourage followed afterwards, probably wanting to get out of there just as fast as he did. He spoke over his shoulder, saying, "I will make sure there is no construction by the time we get there. Don't forget, I'll be leaving the address with one of your attendants."

"You mustn't keep secrets, Xiao-lang," they chided, though he did not turn to acknowledge that he had even heard them. The elder continued despite being ignored and said tauntingly, "We are, after all… _family_ again."

He turned to face them one last time before leaving completely. With his group of friends standing behind him, mentally sending him their votes of confidence, he glared at the elders, making sure the heat of it reached them all the way on the other side of the room and said, "Not yet we are."

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran didn't have to look very far to find where Kaito was staying. His first thought was to text or call him via Sakura's cell phone, which they still had in their position, but they figured that any call or message they gave him would go ignored, no matter how insistent they were. There was also a good chance that he might have flown back to Japan, away from the fiancé that betrayed him, but one phone call to the man in charge of the tower's construction answered all of Syaoran's questions.

Through him, Syaoran learned that Kaito had to stay in China for a few more days for business reasons concerning the new Tower being built. There were people he had to meet with and construction to supervise for a little while longer. Under the guise of a fellow business man that had simply lost Kaito's contact information, Syaoran was able to get the address of the hotel he was staying at from the man he spoke with.

With Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling and Kero waiting outside inside the car, Syaoran went inside the low key hotel to ask whether Kaito was in or not, the receptionist answered that he was, but also offered to call his room to let him know that there was a visitor for him in their lobby. Syaoran quickly declined and insisted that he go up to the room himself. It looked as though the woman was about to refuse him entry, but he used a little charm to get her to let him in – something he learned from Eriol.

He took the stairs instead of using the elevator. It was a relatively small hotel, and Kaito wasn't on a very high floor, but Syaoran wanted to put off their meeting for as long as possible – not that Kaito knew anything about it. Syaoran coming by would be a complete surprise to him, and it had to be. If Syaoran even hinted to him somehow that he was visiting, Kaito would probably call security on him.

When Syaoran arrived outside his door, he raised one arm to hold onto the top of the doorframe and leaned on it for a moment, gathering his nerve. Taking a few slow breaths in the darkness of the hall, he clenched his jaw and knocked on the door. The faster he got this over with, the sooner Sakura would be out of the well and Masaru defeated.

A hollow voice on the other side politely turned down the room service. Sighing, Syaoran knocked again, thinking it unwise to call out who it really was at his door. Anyway, it was best that he didn't let Kaito know who it was until the very last moment when he opened the door, so as to minimize his chances of being turned away or ignored.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? I really do not need any room service right now," Kaito refused once more, sounding impatient but obviously still trying to be polite.

Syaoran only knocked some more, and would continue to do so until Kaito got so irritated that he opened the door to tell him off.

He heard footsteps padding forward. Wisely, Syaoran moved out of the way to lean against the wall next to the door, in case Kaito decided to peek through the fish hole.

Finally it swung open, and Kaito stuck his head out into the hallway to find out who was playing pranks on him. Slowly Syaoran stepped away from the wall, his hands in his pockets and eyes cast downward.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kaito asked, sounding both offended and outraged.

Syaoran raised his eyes slightly, to stare at Kaito's pajama shirt instead of the floor. "I have to talk to you."

"I don't have to listen to anything you have to say," he muttered indignantly, already grabbing the side of the door to close it behind him.

"It's about Sakura," Syaoran added.

Kaito stopped for a fraction of a second, then scoffed as though he'd never even taken a pause. "Get out of here, Li. I'm sure as hell not talking to _you_ about _her_."

Syaoran finally found the nerve to meet his stare and put a firm hand on the door before he could shut it closed in his face. "She's in trouble, Yoshida."

His inauspicious sentence was enough to have Kaito stop completely. Now it was him who couldn't meet Syaoran's eyes. For a second, all he could do was try to lift his gaze again. When it seemed to be trained on something just above Syaoran's shoulder, he asked, "What kind of trouble?" in a voice that did not do enough to hide his curiosity or worry.

"Mortal danger kind of trouble."

Kaito's eyes narrowed in confusion but didn't say anything. Instead he walked back inside of his hotel room but left the door open for Syaoran to follow. Well – it wasn't exactly the smoothest start, but as long as they both kept Sakura at the forefront of their minds, then the conversation they were about to have would be easy enough to have.

Kaito stood tensely by the window, his arms crossed over his chest. Syaoran's hands were still in his pockets. This time, both of them were looking elsewhere, just not at each other.

"What's happened?" he asked quietly.

Syaoran gestured to the lounge where there was a table and a few chairs. "I think you should sit down for this."

Kaito shook his head. "Just tell me, Li."

He blew air out of his mouth and wondered where on earth to start. He didn't actually rehearse that part of their conversation – he only practiced how to get into the same room as Kaito without starting an argument or a brawl.

He supposed he would just have to start off simple. "Yoshida, have you ever seen Sakura wear a key around her neck? There was a star in the center of a circle, with little white wings attached."

Kaito shrugged. "Uh… yeah, a few times, when it came out of her shirt."

Syaoran's face contorted in disgust and jealousy. Seeing his reaction, Kaito rolled his eyes and explained, "She always wore that necklace, but always underneath her clothing. Why? Was it from you?" This time it was his turn to contort his face into a grimace.

His face back to normal, Syaoran answered, "No. It wasn't from me. That necklace came from another man – his name was Clow Reed."

Kaito looked positively dismayed. "Don't tell me he was in love with her, too!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes to the heavens. "No. He wasn't in love with her. Clow Reed was a sorcerer, Yoshida, the most powerful one in the world. I'm his descendant and heir."

Kaito's eyebrows lifted, but he didn't speak.

"Sakura received that necklace from him in the fourth grade when she inherited the fifty-two magical cards that he created."

Syaoran was being given an extremely skeptical look. After a lapse of silence, Kaito walked passed him and headed for the door, saying, "I think you've wasted enough of my time with your storytelling. You can leave now."

Sighing, Syaoran said, "I'm being completely serious, Yoshida. Sakura is magical – she has been since she was nine years old. That's how I met her."

"Sakura can't manage a normal card trick, let alone fifty-two magical cards!"

Syaoran shrugged. He had a point, but still he ploughed onward.

"I know it's hard to believe – but it's true. And now her magic has gotten her into some serious trouble."

Kaito mocked a worried face. "Oh no, don't tell me – she got a paper cut from one of her magical cards?"

Glaring, Syaoran answered, "No. She's been taken prisoner."

The sentence alone, along with the severe tone and lack of humour in Syaoran's voice sobered Kaito immediately. He swallowed and returned to the room where Syaoran stood, looking nervous and apprehensive.

"What do you mean she's been taken prisoner?"

Deciding to just come right out with it, Syaoraran said, "The angry spirit of one of Clow's enemies has been stalking Sakura, myself, and Hiiragizawa – oh, he's Clow Reed's incarnation."

His eyes now wide and disbelieving, Kaito muttered, "Oh, well, of course he is…"

Ignoring him, Syaoran continued, "In the spirit's attempt to contact Clow who has long since been dead, he found us three instead because of our magical ties to him. When we confronted him two nights ago, he didn't take the news so well that Clow passed away." To convey the heaviness of the situation, he began to explain how awful things truly were down in the well. "The man, Masaru – he took his rage out on us one by one, Yoshida. He threw me and Hiiragizawa around like ragdolls with dark magic like I'd never seen."

Not quite believing of his story yet, or completely convinced of Syaoran's sanity, Kaito decided to humour him. But he also wanted to ask out of concern for Sakura, because – well, what if he was telling the truth, and she really _was_ being held captive?

"And Sakura?" he wondered. "Was she hurt?"

Syaoran had forgotten the fact that he would of course ask whether or not his fiancée had been hurt. Mentally slapping himself, he pondered how exactly to answer his question.

"W-well… no…"

"So instead of hurting her, he decided to keep her hostage?"

He felt like wringing his fingers together. "Sort of…?"

Expectantly and impatiently, Kaito coaxed, "Li, what is it? You're obviously not telling me something."

Syaoran remained silent. It was best to leave the part about Masaru falling for Sakuta out of the whole situation – but he had done enough lying to Kaito and, well – didn't he deserve to know the truth?

"Listen, Li," Kaito started, sounding even less patient than last time. "I'm already humouring you by listening. If you want me to believe you, you have to tell me everything."

He pressed his lips together into a thin line. He was right – perhaps giving him all the details would get him to really believe. And what was more believable than a guy falling for Sakura at first sight? That was more plausible than the moon being made out of cheese.

Fighting the knot that appeared in his throat, he said slowly, "Well… you see, before Masaru could harm Sakura, he sort of… fell in love with her." The last words of his sentence literally left a bitter taste in his mouth. They were not easy words to say for him at all.

Kaito appeared to be processing the entire situation in his mind. "So… that's why he took her captive? Because he fell in love with her?"

Syaoran nodded firmly. "Yes. And I need your help to get her back."

He was sighing in the next instant, running his hands over his face and through his dark black hair. He looked so tired, then. It was as though he had just returned from a long jog. He stared at Syaoran, not looking angry or impatient anymore. He just seemed withdrawn – which probably was not a good sign.

"Li, that's enough. If you thought this story would ease the tension between Sakura and I, or between me and you – it's just not going to work. I really have to ask you to leave now."

Syaoran's jaw dropped. He had truly believed that Kaito was on the verge of believing. "Yoshida, I'm not lying about any of this! Sakura really has been taken prisoner by a vengeful spirit – you have to believe me!"

"I'll see you around, Li."

He was being pushed out of the door in the next instant, and Syaoran was amazed at how successful Kaito was in getting him out of the room. He supposed there was just no use in fighting him when his heart had been broken so recently – a man scorned could be just as powerful as the woman scorned.

"Yoshida, wait! What can I say to make you believe me?"

"Nothing, Li."

"Well what can I _do_?"

The door was already being closed in his face. "How about you show me a magic trick with one of those magical cards, and then we'll talk?" he said sarcastically.

His cynical comment was just the thing that Syaoran needed for the light bulb to go off in his head. Of _course_ – why hadn't he thought of it first?

Before the door slammed shut, Syaoran transformed his Jian sword and expertly maneuvered the blade back inside, so as to keep the door from closing completely. He wedged it open and stomped towards Kaito, who had a hilariously astonished look about his face. Little did he know that Syaoran was only doing exactly as was suggested – only he wasn't going to be using a Sakura Card, he would be using his own magic.

He took an ofuda from his pocket and summoned the element that would cause the least damage.

"Fuuka Shourai!"

The burst of wind rushed forward from the sword directly towards Kaito and pinned him against the wall. For as long as Syaoran kept the blade pressed to the ofuda, the wind continued to blow. When he thought that he had performed just enough powerful magic to have him believe, Syaoran relented and took a step back. Immediately Kaito fell some ways down the length of the wall, but remained standing – only at a half crouch, sort of. There was just no explaining the look on his face.

After a moment of silence, Kaito stuttered, "I… think… I'm going to sit down now…"

Syaoran followed him to the table where he had first suggested they sit down and talk and took a seat opposite him. Obviously it was going to take him some time to fully understand what had just happened, so he didn't say anything – and he wouldn't, not until Kaito said something first.

It turned out that he didn't have to wait very long for him to do so.

"Y-you're not kidding around," he said, his voice almost inaudible. "Every word you said – it's true, isn't it?"

Syaoran nodded.

"So that spirit – Masaru… he's _real_. And he has Sakura…" he trailed off as a deep and pensive look clouded his eyes. "The man named Masaru – does he have power like yours?"

Syaoran nodded again. "He does have power like mine, only greater – and darker."

Kaito's face fell. Syaoran could see it in his eyes that he finally understood the gravity of the situation. It didn't matter to him that the man was also in love with Sakura. All he could think of was, if he really did have more power than Syaoran, there was just no telling what he could do with it to harm her.

"What should I do?" he asked. "What do I have to do to make sure she is safe from him?"

Finally Syaoran had got him on board – it only took an uncomfortable conversation and an impromptu demonstration of his magic, but at least he had Kaito on his side now.

"You can call off construction on your tower."

He looked confused. "I don't understand – how will that help?"

"Sakura isn't being held captive just anywhere – she's in another dimension entirely. In the lot where you're building your tower, there is the well where you found Sakura ill – that well can bring me inside Masaru's shadow realm. But right now, since he knows I'm coming back for her, he's placed a protective barrier around it that I can't break. I'm bringing in reinforcements – and I'll most likely have to battle him in broad daylight."

Though Syaoran was speaking calmly Kaito's sake, so as not to scare or worry him even more or, he might as well have been going a mile a minute just by the look on his confused face.

Slowly, Syaoran said, "Do you understand, Yoshida? There will be magical activity going on in the construction zone where your tower is being built, and no one can see. It is _vital_ that the entire area is evacuated of people not in the know. That is why I'm asking you to stop construction on the tower for the day."

Apparently his slow explanation helped. Kaito nodded right away, looking determined. "Done. It'll be empty the entire day – longer, if needed."

Syaoran shook his head in decline, hiding just how horrified he felt if she had to spend yet another day in Masaru's shadow realm. "No. It won't take longer than that – it _shouldn't_."

Having said all that he had to say, Syaoran stood and walked over to the door. As he did, he heard Kaito ask from behind him, "What about the shops and other roads in the area? There's got to be at least twenty surrounding ones, if not more. What if someone passes through? Do I need to—?"

He stopped him before he got carried away and spent tons of money in bribes to keep stores and roads closed. "No, that's taken care of."

Kaito shifted his eyes as he continued to think of more things that he could possibly help with. "Is it you, then, going into that other dimension to save her?"

Syaoran was afraid to nod – what if he insisted on coming along?

"Yes, I will be. Hiiragizawa will probably be coming with me as well. Listen, Yoshida, I understand that you want to be sure of her safety, too…"

"Let me come, Li," he asked, though it sounded more like a plea. "I may be angry with Sakura, but she has been the most important woman in my life for two years. I have to make sure she's safe. I don't know what I'll do if something happens to her down there…"

Syaoran couldn't help the jealousy that rose within him. Still, he managed to answer calmly, "We both want the same thing, Yoshida. I would let you come, but this really is best handled by magical beings. You have to understand – I'm not keeping you from coming along because of our differences when it comes to Sakura. I'm doing it for your own good."

Kaito did not seem happy at all with the decision – but he did look resigned.

To reassure him, Syaoran added, "I swear – her safety is the only thing I have in mind. You can even come to the well, as long as you keep a safe distance. Just make sure that the lot is empty. This is the only thing you need to do."

Kaito nodded in understanding. He seemed nervous – hell, Syaoran was too, but he just couldn't afford to show it when everyone expected him to be Sakura's saviour.

Syaoran stepped out of the hotel room and turned to give a single nod in goodbye. Before he left, he remembered one last thing that he needed to be sure of.

"Oh, and, Yoshida?" he asked.

Kaito stared at him questioningly.

"I just thought you should know… after Sakura is saved and Masaru is defeated… I'll be staying in China."

He raised his eyebrow, unsure of what Syaoran was trying to get at.

"Sakura should… she should…" the knot reappeared in his throat, only bigger this time, and with it came a wetness in his eyes that he feared would spill over his bottom lids in the form of tears. "Sakura should go back to Japan with you."

Kaito looked surprised at his words, but also somewhat skeptical. "She should?"

He nodded. "Yes… you see – this whole thing that's happened between the three of us… it's too much, and – anyway, I'll be rejoining my clan as their new leader right after she's saved. I think you two should – should…"

Kaito didn't say a word. He wanted to hear the words come from Syaoran – he wanted to be sure that what he was being told to do was to try again with Sakura.

"You're good for her," Syaoran stated abruptly, starting from a totally different direction. "She was always going to choose you, anyway, and I – I just want her to be happy. And _you_ make her happy. So… stay engaged to her. Don't let her go."

To hide the wetness in his eyes, Syaoran's gaze found its way back to the floor. He thanked the heavens that at least his voice was still firm and not cracking.

He could feel Kaito's heavy stare on him still. It was a long time before he decided to respond to Syaoran's encouraging words.

"I don't need your permission to be with her, you know."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"No?" Kaito asked. He was quiet again; trying to find the ulterior motive behind the suggestion. Perhaps there was a little something that benefitted Syaoran if he and Sakura were to stay together. He concluded after a minute or two of hard staring and thinking that there was indeed nothing that he could possibly gain from them being together. Syaoran seemed serious – and even more than that, sincere.

"If she chooses me, I want her to do it because she wants to. Not because I'm the only choice left."

"I'm telling you – she was going to choose you, anyway. It was never going to be me."

Not even Syaoran was sure of the words as they come out of his mouth. He had never known what Sakura's choice would be – but he'd always known his chances were slim. It just made the whole situation better if he told Kaito that he was the one she wanted. It would give them both what they wanted – Sakura's happiness.

Kaito sighed. "I don't think you should be making this choice for her, Li."

He shrugged with one shoulder. "I'm not making any decision for her, Yoshida. I'm telling the truth – she would've chosen you in the end. I'm returning to my clan, so I won't be causing her anymore pain. Just… just stay with her. Please, Yoshida, you have to. She already feels so terrible about everything, and after this ordeal… if you leave her, she'll have no one."

There was a short silence that stretched between the two of them, and Syaoran was sure that in the few seconds in which they didn't speak, they had somehow reached an understanding.

Without another word on the matter, the light from the inside of the hotel room disappeared slowly as the door closed shut. Somehow it felt to him as though the real sacrifice he made that day wasn't deciding to return to the clan, but conceding to Yoshida in the fight for Sakura's heart.

Sighing, he turned around and found that he was right back where he had started; alone and without Sakura, facing the thick darkness of the wide hall.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes: **Boy, did I ever feel sad while writing that!

Aaaaahhh, I am way past my two week limit! So sorry for this long wait to update, you guys. Unfortunately I am not yet finished writing the last few chapters that will wrap up the story. That will take me quite some time, even though there _are_ only a few chapters left (since the story has less than twenty chapters on the whole). I would like to give all of you my litany of excuses (homework, projects, exams, work, my volunteering, social life, etc.,) but you guys don't deserve it! What you guys _do_ deserve is an update that doesn't take a month or a year. So I will do my best to make the wait between chapters as little as possible. But this time, I really am not making any promises because I really have no idea what I can guarantee at this point! :(

Just please remember that I think you guys are wonderful, amazing, super-duper people and I will never abandon any story that I write – let alone any of you!

And as per usual, please don't forget to leave me a review if you happened to read even a little bit of the chapter :).

Lots of love!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	15. Into Darkness

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter fifteen!

**Casting Shadows**

_Into Darkness_

Eriol leaned against a wall as he watched Syaoran solemnly. They were in his private training room back at the estate, preparing for the battle that would soon take place. Syaoran had been at it for hours, while Eriol had stopped a while ago, so as to make sure he didn't tire himself out before the real thing. He had thought that Syaoran would do the same, but apparently he was determined to continue training up until the very last moment.

"Syaoran," Eriol said sombrely. "That's enough."

He was either unheard or ignored as Syaoran dropped his Jian sword carelessly, letting it fall to the floor with a loud clatter. Setting his sights upon the over large punching bag, he approached it with a firm glare in his eyes. He began thumping it as though it were Masaru himself.

"Syaoran," Eriol said again, louder this time. "I said that's enough."

The only response he gave was a grunt as he continued to deliver jab after jab.

"You'll wear yourself out."

"I'm not tired."

"Syaoran, it's almost time, and we still have to talk about—"

"We have nothing to talk about."

"Yes," Eriol insisted crossly. "We do. Leave the punching bag alone and stop avoiding this conversation. You wouldn't hear it from any of us in the car ride over to Yoshida's and you wouldn't listen to us on the way back here. You can't keep pretending like—"

"Like what?" Syaoran challenged, ceasing with the punches and facing Eriol.

"Like you haven't just made the worst decision of your life! Syaoran, you don't have to go through with this. It's not too late to tell the elders that we don't want their help. We can penetrate that barrier and defeat Masaru on our own."

Syaoran lowered his gaze and shook his head. "No we can't."

"Yes, we can!" Eriol insisted once more. "Don't you understand what you've done? You signed a deal with the devil! You're trading your life away!"

"I know what I've done, all right?" he countered, meeting his friend's stare with sadness. "I know that I just agreed to come back to the clan that made my life hell. I _also_know that everything I've done up to this point has been in vain. I broke up with Sakura to be the clan leader, which I'm _not_. I abandoned the clan to be with her again, which I'm _not_. I brought her into this mess so that I could find some peace, and I have _not_."

Eriol opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't find it in him to argue. There was just no point of it. Syaoran was going through with the plan and re-joining his clan, no matter what he or anyone else said or did.

"I guess I'm just fulfilling my own destiny," Syaoran said, his voice barely audible. "I was stupid to think that I could escape from the clan. I was bound to return to them. I'm their appointed leader – Clow's heir. There's just no running from it. And if there's no running from it – I might as well get something out of it for myself."

Eriol raised his eyebrow. "And what exactly are you getting out of this?"

Syaoran gave him a sardonic look. "I'm getting Sakura out of the well."

Shaking his head, Eriol said with much emotion, "She would never ask you to do this for her!"

"She wouldn't have to!" Syaoran snapped. "The same way Daidouji wouldn't have to ask you if this were her – but you would do it for her anyway. Wouldn't you?"

Just as Syaoran thought, his question was met with silence. He didn't need Eriol to answer. Even though he and Tomoyo hadn't been seeing each other for very long at all, their attraction for each other was obvious. And even more than that, everyone knew that they had grown to care very much for one another. Just like Syaoran for Sakura, Eriol would dive into that well and volunteer anything if it meant saving Tomoyo.

Eriol closed his gaping mouth and looked down. Syaoran turned and picked up his sword again, so that he might not just train, but also release some pent up aggression. Suddenly they heard a knock on the door before it creaked open. Tomoyo came halfway down the short flight of stairs and leaned out over the railing, trying to appear as though she weren't nervous. But with the battle looming and three of her loved ones' lives at stake, it was hard for her to act natural.

"Li-kun, Eriol… I have Yoshida-kun in the parlour."

Eriol's head swung in Syaoran's direction, a look of confusion about his face. "What is he doing here?"

Syaoran's eyes grew dim. Although he was honest about what he had told Kaito in his hotel suite, he had forgotten to tell them one last detail. "After I sort of… spilled the beans, I told him he could come along and see that we got Sakura safely out of the well for himself – as long as he didn't get in our way."

Tomoyo and Eriol were shaking their heads.

"You had no right to do either of that, Li-kun!" Tomoyo scolded. Syaoran kept quiet and listened intently to this next lecture. Ever since he had told them that he revealed Sakura's secrets to Kaito, they'd been berating him for it, and he didn't blame them. He had wanted to keep it a secret from Kaito as well, but what else was he supposed to do? Allow construction to continue and risk blowing the cover of the magical world? "That was up to Sakura-chan to tell him about her magic – and now having him there as you duke it out with Masaru? It'll be dangerous, he could get hurt!"

"I know," he answered, trying to sound apologetic. "But I'm telling you – it was the only way to get him to believe me and stop construction on his tower."

Tomoyo folded her arms stubbornly and looked at the two men defiantly. "Well, I'm not going to entertain him all by myself."

"You've got Meiling-san with you, Tomoyo," Eriol reminded her. He wanted to grant Syaoran with enough time alone to prepare not just physically for the battle, but also mentally.

"It's too awkward!" she whined. "How can I look him in the eye, with both of us knowing that I have practically been lying to him this whole time about Sakura-chan's magic?"

"Tomoyo, I'm sure it will be fine. Syaoran and I just want to get a few more minutes of training in and we'll be right up."

She shook her head and remained where she was, stock still in her spot. "I'm not going up there without one of you coming up with me."

They heard another pair of footsteps bounding to the room. Suddenly the door was pushed further open and Meiling burst through, looking distraught. She climbed down a few steps on the stairs and stopped just above Tomoyo. "Why am I the only one sitting in the parlour with Yoshida-kun?"

"Meiling-san," Eriol chided. "What did you come down here for? You're supposed to be keeping him company!"

"I can't sit up there with him all by myself, it's too awkward! He freaked out when he saw the plush toy come to life!"

Syaoran felt like falling over in aggravation. He wanted to scream at the two girls, but it was Eriol that spoke for him instead. "He saw Keroberos?"

Meiling shrugged. "Well, yeah. He figured, if you had already told him everything about Kinomoto-san's magic, it was safe for him to stop acting like a plush toy around Yoshida."

"This is ridiculous," Syaoran grumbled, throwing his sword down and marching up the stairs. "We can't all be down here – and if none of you want to be alone with him then we might as well _all_ go up there to humour him."

They stared after him as he brushed past all three of them, barely giving a backwards glance. With a shrug to one another they followed after him, walking in single file to the parlour before they scattered themselves across the room. Tomoyo sat in a chair that was a decent enough distance away from Kaito, close enough to not make him curious. Meiling stood by the unlit fireplace and leaned with her back to the bricks, trying to appear nonchalant. Eriol was the only one with enough guts to sit on the couch opposite from him while Syaoran remained close to the entrance, a blank look on his face and his arms folded across his chest.

When they got settled, Kaito did not greet them. He was far too horror struck to even notice that any of them had entered the room, and far too busy staring at Kero wagging his tail in mid-air to say anything.

"What's up, dude?" Kero asked, peering into his petrified face with concern. His wings flapped some more. "You all right?"

It looked as though Kaito was trying to shake his head but couldn't find it in him to remove his eyes from the floating beast. "I – I… y-you're – you – you…"

"I'm… I'm…?" Kero coaxed, trying to decipher his stammering. "I'm… a handsome fella? I know, sometimes it's hard to admit, but—"

"Yoshida, this is Keroberos, one of Sakura's guardians," Syaoran interrupted, literally swatting him away and coming to sit down next to Eriol. "I'll save you the shock of finding out and just tell you that he also has a much bigger form that you'll probably see later today – like a tiger. With wings. And fire breathing abilities."

Kaito's jaw dropped another inch. "I – I… h-he… i-it c-can… t-transf-f-orm?"

"You bet I can!" Kero boasted, flying between the two men and getting up in Kaito's face. "It's pretty awesome. Want to see? I can transform right now! Here, watch this—"

Before he sent Syaoran's blood pressure through the roof, Eriol took him around his tiny little waist and put a firm hand over his mouth, to shut him up. With their annoying little yellow friend restrained, Syaoran nodded and replied, "Her other guardian can transform, too, but you won't be seeing him today. He has a more human appearance, by the way. But he also has wings. In his human guise he is Tsukishiro Yukito. You might have met him before."

His eyes then proceeded to bulge out of their sockets. "Tsukishiro-san is – is – he's magical, too?"

Syaoran nodded. "We all pretty much are, with the exception of Daidouji and Meiling."

He was nodding now, apparently now able to move his head. But he still looked dumbfounded, just less so. It was more like he was beginning to digest all of these new pieces of information.

"O-o-kay… great. Good to know. Anything else I should know?"

Syaoran looked among his friends, in case there was. When they all either shrugged or shook their heads, he answered, "No. I'm pretty sure we've got it all out in the open. Now, uh," he wondered what to say next. "What are you doing here?"

Kaito stared at him. "What do you mean what am I doing here? You said I could be there with you to make sure Sakura was saved from that well."

"Yeah, but…" he said uncomfortably, "why did you come here? We would have met you there."

"I went there first," he explained. "But the entire area is closed off – they told me it was for road construction, and I told them I was allowed to be there. But they didn't believe me and sent me away. I tried calling Daidouji's cell phone, as well as Sakura's, but nobody was picking up. So I thought I would head over with all of you instead."

Finally they understood. Of course the lot where they were building the tower and the surrounding area would be blocked off – that was the whole plan. Sighing, Syaoran and Eriol both stood. They knew that there was no more time to do any extra preparing. It was time to get dressed and do battle.

"You can wait here or in your car. We'll be out in a minute."

Tomoyo sprang up from her seat on the chair and exclaimed, "Just a minute! I want everybody in their battle outfits. Meiling, that means you as well, even though you won't be fighting."

Kaito looked about himself unsurely. "Do… do I have a battle outfit?"

Tomoyo laughed and shook her head. "Oh no, Yoshida-kun. Not you and I – we're normal folk."

"O-oh," he stuttered. "Sure, okay…"

She helped him off the couch, because it really looked like he could have used the help, and exited the parlour. Looking over her shoulder, she glared at the two men and motioned upstairs with her chin, which meant either they go up there and get changed into their costumes, or else she would throw a fit.

Sighing, they bounded up the stairs together and Eriol went to his master bedroom to get into his standard, black and blue traditional robes. When Syaoran entered his own bedroom, he found a different outfit than the one he wore the first night they visited Masaru, though it was somewhat similar.

He donned a black turtle neck with sleeves that went just past the elbow, stopping short of his wrists. A dark, olive green belt went around his waist, to complement the light grey pants and the equally dark olive green ankle boots. Black leather gloves went over his steady hands before he completed the outfit with a maroon hooded cloak around his shoulders.

When he came down the stairs, he was not surprised to see Tomoyo waiting for him to make sure that he hadn't just thrown on any old thing. It was even less of a surprise to see the video camera resting against her white cheek. Smiling, she moved with his every step as he climbed down the stairs, satisfied and impressed with herself.

"You look good," she complimented.

Syaoran didn't answer her. Instead he raised an eyebrow at her and came to stand by her side, between her and Meiling who was already dressed in her usual ying and yang garb. She seemed to also be at her ease, leaning with her back against the wall, picking at her finger nails.

"Where is Hiiragizawa?" he asked, trying not to sound impatient.

"Still getting ready," Meiling answered, "his outfit takes forever to put on."

Syaoran turned to face her, his eyebrow still slightly raised. "Why is everyone acting so… normal? I mean, I'm not nervous or apprehensive or anything like that, but it feels like I'm the only one taking this seriously – _again_."

His cousin shrugged. "Maybe it'll hit us when we get there," she said. When she noticed Syaoran's eyes grow annoyed, she quickly added, "It's not that any of us aren't worried or taking this seriously, Syaoran, really. I think we just know that… it's _you_ going after her. Eriol-kun as well, but… we know _you_ would never fail her. If it's you coming to her rescue, we know she'll be fine."

She was smiling at him. He wanted to truly thank her for her vote of confidence, as well as everyone else for being so assured of his abilities to save Sakura, but he couldn't speak. He was sure that if anything were to come out of the day, it would be Sakura's rescue – and with that came his departure from her life for good.

Finally Eriol came down the stairs looking serious and even somewhat majestic.

Tomoyo was smiling wider behind her camera. "There you are. Let's get going, shall we?"

Eriol nodded and went to the door, holding it open for the girls and Kero to exit first, and then for him and Syaoran to follow afterwards. Peering out momentarily, he held an arm out to stop them and ask, "Can I safely assume that no one is riding with Yoshida-kun?"

Together their heads swivelled to look at him waiting in his car, staring at the steering wheel as if it too were about to come to life and talk about how handsome it was.

Meiling glared at Kero. "You could have given him a warning, you know. Now he's never going to stop looking like he's about to throw up!"

Kero shrugged with one shoulder and led the way out. "He's intimidated by my fierce good looks, is all."

Groaning they took his lead and packed into the car, leaving Kaito alone in his own car so that he could get a grip. He kept close behind them on the drive over to the lot, and moved even closer when they reached the men blocking off the entrance. It was clear that unlike everyone else, he was terribly anxious.

Eriol rolled down the window of his driver's seat and spoke to a man dressed in black with sunglasses on. He stared into the car with a solemn look about his sweaty face.

"No one's allowed through," he said in Chinese.

Answering in the same language, Eriol told him, "I'm here with Li Syaoran. We have business here."

The man looked sceptical. "Do you?"

Politely, Eriol answered, "Yes. We do. There's an evil spirit keeping our dear friend hostage in a well. I'm sure you knew that, though. If you like, you could speak to one of the elders to make extra sure that we have enough reason to be here – however, I'm sure they'd only reprimand you for keeping their future leader—" he nodded briefly to Syaoran, sitting solemnly next to him, "waiting these two minutes. And I know we would both like to keep that from happening. So if you don't mind?"

The man in sunglasses had a ting of pink around his cheeks. Spluttering but not saying anything, he quickly gestured to the other men who separated hastily to make room for the cars to pass. Eriol nodded and smiled in gratitude and eased his way into the lot, looking in the rear view mirror to make sure that Kaito didn't have any problems following them in. He couldn't help but notice how closely he was being followed – Kaito really must have been on edge.

When they parked the cars, they stepped out and with a quick look amongst each other, walked over to the group of people huddled together down below, near the well. Knowing that they would immediately start questioning his presence, Syaoran sucked up his pride and chose to walk beside Kaito. He knew the elders would bear down upon him like a pack of hungry wolves, and considering the poor guy's obvious anxiety, he thought he would spare him their haranguing.

To his surprise, however, it was he who would be surprised by who the elders brought with them.

"_Jia_?" he asked both in disbelief and incredulity. "What are you doing here? With them? _Again_?"

She looked miserable, but still pretty, looking down at her feet and as though she was ready to cry. "I knew you'd be upset, Xiao-lang. Don't be mad at me, please. I wanted to be here – I wanted to make sure that you came out of that well all right – that you wouldn't be hurt."

"Yes," one of the elders said, coming to stand beside her and putting a hand to her shoulder. She did not seem to appreciate the touch. "This was one family function she did not mind being dragged to… she is still in love with you, Xiao-lang. Did you know that?"

In the next second he was snarling, ready to fight Masaru _and_ all twelve of the elders.

"If you brought her here thinking you could convince me to marry her again, you've got another thing coming to you," he ground out.

Kaito, who was still standing next to him, raised his brows. "You were married to her?" he asked.

Talking out of the corner of his mouth but still glaring at the elders, Syaoran answered, "Betrothed to her."

Kaito nodded in understanding. "She's pretty, Li."

Syaoran turned his head to face him fully, confusion in his amber eyes. "What?"

Kaito shrugged. "I'm just saying. She seems like she would make a nice wife. She seems very caring and is also very pretty. And it's obvious that she's very concerned about you."

The look in Syaoran's eyes became more perplexed. He had already told Kaito that he would be backing off of Sakura – there was no need for him to encourage a relationship between himself and Jia.

"Then why don't _you_ marry her?" he said, shaking his head. Kaito just rolled his eyes in response and kept quiet.

"And who," the same elder started, inclining his head in Kaito's direction, "is the guest that you have brought along?"

Syaoran opened his mouth to answer and also to defend, just in case they said anything nasty, but Kaito had beaten him to the punch.

"My name is Yoshida Kaito and my hotel is being built on this spot. The girl that is stuck in that well is my fian—"

He stopped suddenly and looked in Syaoran's direction. Syaoran met his stare for a moment before moving his gaze downwards. The way Kaito saw it – he had agreed to nothing. Even though Syaoran had basically promised to stay away and not cause him any problems with Sakura – he still wanted her to choose him for herself, not because he was a default.

"Is my friend," he finished. "She is my friend."

He questioned Kaito's answer momentarily before deciding there was no point. Sakura would undoubtedly go back to him – she would most definitely not be left alone. He was ready to bet his bottom dollar that in the end, Kaito would be back with her.

The elders didn't seem affected by his answer. They stared at Kaito with a question in their eyes, a question that was probably worded like: Are we supposed to care?

"I suppose we are just allowing anyone and everyone to know about the magical world," they said, sounding very unimpressed. "Why don't we just broadcast it, Xiao-lang? It would be much easier that way to let the rest of the world know."

"He has a right to be here," Syaoran defended, sounding also offended for his sake. "This is his property that we are going to be battling on, and his fiancée that is—"

Syaoran stopped when the elders and Kaito gave him sharp stares. He had obviously gone too far by saying she was his fiancée.

"My, my, Xiao-lang," one of the elders said smoothly. "You certainly do like to keep us in the dark."

Suddenly in a bad mood and wanting to get everything over with, Syaoran snapped, "All right, that's enough. Are we through with these introductions? Can we move on to the issue at hand?"

The elder spread his arms out and bowed his head mockingly, saying, "As you wish, Xiao-lang."

Syaoran looked over his shoulder and motioned with his head for Eriol to follow. He nodded and jogged over, Meiling and Tomoyo following suit. The two men faced the girls and Kaito, looking prepared and composed.

"Stay a safe distance away – I mean it," Eriol told them, though it looked as though he were mainly speaking to Tomoyo. "When Syaoran lures Masaru out of the well to defeat him in the daylight, there's no telling what could happen. Don't come near unless it is absolutely clear on both ends that Masaru has been beaten. And don't worry. Everything will surely be all right – like Sakura-san always says, right?"

It was his last sentence that had everyone smiling. Kaito especially seemed very touched.

With a nod to everyone, Eriol, Syaoran and a surprisingly silent Kero went to join the elders at the well. Kaito, Meiling and Tomoyo went to walk in the other direction to get safely out of the way. Suddenly Eriol stopped and turned back on his heel. Confused, Syaoran also turned to ask him what he was doing. It was obvious, however, when he placed his hand on Tomoyo's shoulder, that he wanted one more goodbye before diving into the well.

Caught off guard by the sudden touch to her shoulder, Tomoyo gasped – but barely. The next thing she knew, Eriol had taken her in his arms and had lowered her romantically in dip-formation, as though they had just been dancing moments before. And even more surprising than that, he had decided to have his first kiss with her in front of all of their friends and Syaoran's grouchy elders.

When he had lifted her so that she was standing once more, it didn't appear as though she could even walk. Hell, Syaoran was sure that Tomoyo's knees were_more_ than weak after that ridiculously romantic kiss.

There was a bright red blush on her cheeks and stars in her bright amethyst eyes. The gasp that she would have breathed had Eriol not kissed her so suddenly escaped her mouth, but she was still smiling – so brightly, in fact, that all Syaoran needed to do was make Masaru stand in front of her and he would surely be defeated.

"For luck," Eriol said, winking at her once and jogging to re-join Syaoran.

When Eriol had caught up with Syaoran and Kero, he looked pleased with himself.

Rolling his eyes, Syaoran muttered, "Always with the theatrics…"

Kero, breaking his strange streak of silence, commented, "Nice touch, dude."

Eriol simply smiled and walked with a slightly bigger bounce in his steps.

When they finally reached the elders, who were still squirming in discomfort at witnessing such a romantic scene, Syaoran finally noticed his mother. Apparently she had been there the whole time, keeping quiet, as per usual, and silently observing everyone else around her. This being the first time that he had actually _seen_ his mother in quite some time, he strode right up to her, leaned in to give her the smallest of pecks on her pale cheek, and stood stock still.

She appraised him for a moment, staring at him with careful eyes as she tried to survey his appearance. He looked stronger to her, and he certainly did not seem unhealthy. However, he did look sadder to her somehow.

"Xiao-lang," she finally said, whisper-soft. She also leaned to return his kiss. After lightly pecking him on the cheek she immediately went to the elders. He wasn't surprised that she didn't do more than that. She was always focused on the task at hand and never liked displaying too much affection in public.

She and the elders surrounded the well in a semi-circle, first pressing their hands together in front of their faces as though they were in prayer. In unison they all took deep breaths, sighed, and closed their eyes. With one look over his shoulder, Syaoran made certain one last time that Kaito, Tomoyo and Meiling were far enough away from the scene. It may not have seemed like it to them from where they stood so far away, but the battle was without a doubt about to commence.

"Xiao-lang," one elder said solemnly. Syaoran looked in his direction. "When we penetrate the barrier, we will only be able to make a big enough gap for all three of you for a few moments. It is important that you slip in quickly – and even more important that you are able to lure Masaru out of his dimension even faster."

"Why?" Syaoran asked.

"When we stop conducting our magic around the well, the barrier will close. If any of you want a chance at escaping, we'll have to keep our magical flow of energy going. Once we see all of you arise from the well and slip out through our gap, we will cease the magical activity. But be warned, Xiao-lang."

Syaoran's ears perked at the suddenly dark voice of the elder.

"Because we will be spending so much of our energy in maintaining a gap in the barrier, we will most likely be too weak to aid you in defeating Masaru. His downfall will have to be brought about by yourself and Hiiragizawa alone."

Syaoran shrugged. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Smirking, Eriol said, "Goodness, Syaoran. I'm flattered, really – does this mean I am finally promoted to best friend status?"

His rhetorical question went ignored.

In a very strange Li clan telepathic way, the elders and Syaoran's mother outstretched their arms so that in their semi-circle, they were all touching palm to palm. With their eyes still closed, they bent their heads forward and began to murmur altogether. The words and incantations they were saying were unfamiliar to Syaoran – hell; it might as well have been gibberish. After a few seconds, the magical sensation in the area began to thicken. Syaoran and Eriol could both feel it – they were getting very close.

And then suddenly all twelve of the elders and Yelan lifted their heads and faced the heavens, their eyes now opened. A blast of white shot up from the well and shone brightly momentarily. It soon began to flicker, as if weakening, and then lessened to an opaque shimmer. It was clear to everyone present, near and far, that the barrier had been broken.

Syaoran, Eriol and Kero didn't need to be told that it was the moment they'd been waiting for. Without a moment's hesitation, Syaoran took the lead and bounded up to the well. He stepped up to the rim and glanced over his shoulder to first make sure that Meiling, Tomoyo and Kaito were dots in the distance. He then focused on his mother, who seemed to be coping with the weight of the magic energy just fine with the help of the twelve other elders. He quickly glanced at Kero who was still in his smaller form, and finally he made eye contact with Eriol, who gave him a nod for courage.

With all of his loved ones behind him and just one more below him, he leaped forward straight into darkness.

_**xxxxxx**_

It took Syaoran very little time to pass through the dimensional tunnel. For some, the simple instruction of conjuring powerful feelings of love might be difficult to accomplish. But lately, Sakura was the only thing he had on his mind, so the right portal to Masaru's dimension practically presented itself to him right at the get-go. With no fear he allowed himself to fall through it easily, confident that Eriol would have just as much ease getting through, what with the ridiculously romantic kiss he'd just shared with Tomoyo only moments before.

Just before his head passed through the portal, he closed his eyes to calm himself. As he was enveloped completely, he felt strangely at peace – as though there truly was nothing to worry about, like what everyone else had been feeling this entire journey. With slow breaths and Sakura's smiling face the most prominent thing in his mind, he knew he was ready. And that even if it killed him, Masaru would be gone and Sakura would be safe.

With his eyes still closed, he felt himself float slowly downwards. Around him it was complete silence. There was no talk, no whimpering, nor evil cackling. Without a sound his feet made contact with the hard, silver platform from before. He opened his eyes and scanned the room, wondering if perhaps Masaru was present. But it didn't take long for his eyes to land upon the one thing he had been craving to see for three agonizing days.

Sakura sat in a far corner of the platform with her knees held tightly to her chest and her auburn brown head buried in a strange black dress. He knew that when she had entered this dimension that she had been in a costume of Tomoyo's design, so this new garment must have been from Masaru – but he hardly cared. There Sakura was in all her heartbreaking glory, totally unaware that he was even there, much like a similar scenario from years ago.

Warily he approached her, crouching to her level and stretching out his arm. Gently he let his fingers graze her wrist so as not to surprise her; however his gesture did not work out as he hoped. Flinching, she recoiled from his touch in a hurry, but Syaoran was not about to let her get away so easily. He took hold of her hand and squeezed reassuringly – he was sure that she would realize it was him.

When she opened her eyes he saw a million and one emotions flood through the emerald pools. There was not enough time to correctly guess them all, because in the next second she practically flew into his arms. At that moment, Syaoran succumbed to his romantic side and admitted to himself that it truly did feel like time had stopped as she clung onto him. And when time had restarted, Sakura pulled away by just an inch to look at him with bright eyes and a joyful smile.

"I waited for you," she told him, as though proud that she had lasted so long.

"I know," he answered, mirroring her smile. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Her smile didn't falter but only grew wider, as if wanting to laugh. Leaning to the side she greeted, "Thanks for coming, Eriol-kun."

To Syaoran's surprise, Eriol had been behind him the whole time, having arrived just a minute or two after he did with Keroberos, who must have transformed into his giant cat form before jumping into the well. He made a mental note to thank him for not ruining his moment with Sakura and giving them a bit of privacy. He also had to be sure to compliment him for somehow being able to keep Keroberos from jumping and yelping for joy at the sight of his mistress.

Eriol bowed graciously in response. Next to him, Kero flapped his wings in joy.

"Keroberos!" Sakura exclaimed.

With his arms outstretched, Eriol said, "Whenever you're ready, Sakura-san."

Standing, Syaoran offered Sakura his hands which she took gratefully. With their hands still joined he hurried her over to Eriol and Kero,both of whom had their eyebrows raised upon taking in her full appearance.

"That is an interesting dress you're wearing," Eriol commented, "I dare say Tomoyo would even like it. Doesn't quite seem like your style, though."

Suddenly feeling very awkward with the barely-there material upon her skin, Sakura squirmed. "He gave it to me – Masaru, I mean. He said it's made of shadows."

As if just having an ordinary chat out in the street and not in any kind of danger, Eriol asked, "What happened to your costume?"

Sakura shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. He got rid of it."

Suddenly, Syaoran's temper began to rise. The thought of Masaru getting rid of Sakura's costume and getting her changed into a sexy black dress that wasn't her style at all caused him to jump to conclusions – conclusions that were in his mind, not so far-fetched, especially considering the fact that Masaru was infatuated with her.

Taking Sakura by the shoulders, he asked her firmly, "Did he hurt you?"

Sakura shook her head and shook slightly, as though shivering at the thought.

Not entirely convinced, Syaoran strengthened his gaze, intending it to feel like a heavy spotlight so that she'd be pressured to tell him the truth. "Did he touch you?"

She shook her head again, "Syaoran-kun, please, we can't waste any more time." Her eyes grew alarmed and clouded with worry. "It isn't safe down here. Masaru, he was a rival of Clow's! He has strong power that he draws from the shadows – he says he can't be defeated by anything! Please, we have to hurry, he'll show any minute!"

"But did he touch you?" Syaoran practically demanded, wanting to know before the battle if his opponent was deserving of a particularly heavier beating.

"No, Syaoran-kun," she insisted, "He never touched me, I swear."

"Though I would have loved to do so."

Immediately their heads turned to see who had spoken, though there was no real question as to who it was. In his long, waving black robes, Masaru floated above them, closer than his usual distance.

Syaoran felt Sakura's shoulders stiffen immediately upon hearing his sinister voice. Eriol took a fighting stance, Kero bared his teeth and growled, while Syaoran simply glared up at him.

"I'm merely a spirit, you see – I can't touch her. But I don't need to. Her presence alone stimulates me."

None of them had yet to move an inch. Cautiously Syaoran squeezed Sakura's shoulders and slid his hands down her arms in an attempt to instill warmth. Quietly he instructed, "Go with Keroberos, Sakura. Eriol and I will follow after you."

Everything about Sakura's face disagreed with what she had been told. Her eyes did not seem to approve of the plan, nor did the straight line that her lips formed. Frowning, Syaoran insisted with his eyes that she do as he said.

"But we're a team," she contended in a hushed tone. "We'll be stronger together – you, me and Eriol-kun. You have to let me stay."

Wanting to groan in frustration, Syaoran wondered how on earth to get her out of there without a fuss. She didn't know that the whole plan was to lure him out of the well so that they could defeat him in broad daylight, and there was no way of telling her about it because he would surely be overheard.

If only there was a way to tell what the plan actually was. If she escaped from the well with Kero, Masaru would be sure to follow her so as to retrieve her again. Syaoran and Eriol, however, were planning on keeping him occupied in battle, just long enough to assure her and Kero a safe exit.

"No, Sakura," he told her with gritted teeth. "You don't understand. You _have_ to leave the well."

He tried to tell her as much as he could with his eyes – that there _was_ a reason for her to escape first, other than the fact that he wanted her out of there.

"Sakura-san," Eriol began, "Syaoran is right. It is best that you go with Keroberos."

"All the whispers…" Masaru said, floating around them and sounding intrigued. "There's no use in that. I hear everything within my dimension."

Deciding that there was no time to get her permission, Syaoran hastily handed Sakura off to Eriol-kun, who for once threw his manners out the window and practically pushed her onto Keroberos' back. With his mistress on board, Kero ran with her to the center of the silver platform, just underneath the ceiling window from which they had entered.

"You can't take my flower away from me," he said simply, not sounding at all worried that they were going to get away with her.

"Oh, I sure as hell can," Syaoran countered, taking his Jian sword from his neck and willing it to transform in his hand. He and Eriol huddled together, ready to begin the fight that they had been preparing for.

"Go now, Keroberos!" Syaoran bellowed without taking his eyes off the floating spirit above him. "Now! Don't waste any more time!"

As Sakura protested, Kero leapt into the air and took flight, flying right up to the window that was still broken from last time. Looking annoyed, but not angry, Masaru held an arm out in their direction and his dark magic shot forward with the intention of winding Keroberos and getting Sakura off of him.

Just before it met its target, a red streak of light reached it first. When Sakura and Kero were able to safely ascend through the window, it was then that Masaru's face took on a look of anger. He turned to Eriol and glowered, and Eriol stared back with equal fierceness.

"She won't get far," he snarled.

"Is that so?" Eriol asked, almost tauntingly. "Sakura-san and Keroberos are probably well on their way out of the dimensional tunnel by now. That magical realm is not under your jurisdiction – you can't stop her."

Masaru's face seemed to get darker with every word that Eriol said. They all knew it – Sakura was practically home safe. But as far as Syaoran was concerned, she wouldn't be completely out of harm's way unless Masaru were defeated.

With a mighty roar full of his fury, Masaru raised his arms, his hands forming fists. The room began to quake and the walls were starting to close in on them, as they had done before the first time they had tried to escape.

"SHE – IS – _MINE_!" he bellowed, as the shaking became more and more severe. Pillars began to crumble all around them. If they didn't get going soon, Syaoran and Eriol would risk getting flattened.

Full of confidence, Syaoran activated a wind spell without any qualms and had the strong gust lift both him and Eriol into the air, at the same level as Masaru.

"She'll never be yours," he seethed, hating that he was once again claiming Sakura for his. Remembering the whole of point their task, he commanded the wind spell to raise both him and Eriol higher. "Unless," he added, "you're willing to fight for her."

He let that final taunt resonate as loud as it possibly could within the crumbling room. Before he and Eriol were lifted completely out of the window, he saw the look in Masaru's dark eyes and was more wounded by his stare than anything else. There was no doubt in Syaoran's mind that this man wanted Sakura to be his.

It was why he was sure they would be followed out, no matter what.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura was waiting with Kero beside her, still dressed in the black gown that Masaru created for her. Tomoyo, Kaito and Meiling saw her emerge from the well only minutes after Syaoran and Eriol dove in. It took Meiling all her strength to restrain both Tomoyo and Kaito from running forward to meet her.

Right when she came out, Sakura didn't bother to look at her surroundings to notice the twelve elders and Yelan in their semi-circle. All she did was try to get passed Kero, who was blocking her path as she attempted to jump back inside.

"Kero-chan, out of the way – I mean it! Syaoran and Eriol, they can't do it alone! They need my help!" she insisted, sounding frustrated and upset.

"Sakura, you can't!" he explained, trying to get her away from the well. "They have no hope of beating Masaru down there, not while they're in his territory!"

"Hoe?" she asked, confused and all the more frustrated. "His territory?"

"He controls everything that goes on down there, Sakura. They needed you out here in the daylight so he would follow you – do you understand? You can't go back there. Just wait, the kid and Eriol will be back here any second."

She stopped trying to push him out of the way momentarily and gave a small, slow sigh. "And _then_ can I help them fight?"

"No," one of the elders answered.

Sakura looked up, surprised, as if just realizing that she and Kero weren't the only two people present.

"Keroberos, keep her at a distance but not too far. Masaru will want to see his prize."

"I am not a _prize_," Sakura snapped, surprised at herself. It was the first time she had ever used a rude tone when talking to the elders. When she was younger, the few times she had ever come across them, she was always on her best behaviour, all for Syaoran's sake, so that they might accept her and their relationship. But this time she could not help but to raise her voice in protest.

"Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun will need my help. They can defeat Masaru sooner and quicker and with the least chances of causing harm to anyone else here if I am at their side!"

The elder that was speaking to her barely looked up at her and continued to concentrate on his magic. It was as if she was _that_ unimportant to him.

"If you know what is good for Xiao-lang, you will let him do this on his own."

Sakura was silenced after that. Maybe they were right… after everything they'd been through since the day he came to see her in Japan, being the one to defeat Masaru seemed like _his_ duty. And if she knew Syaoran, he was probably feeling the same way.

She turned around and followed to where Kero led, just a foot or two away from where the elders stood in their semi-circle. As she trudged along behind him, she noticed in the distance, Tomoyo and Meiling, hands holding their faces in anxiety. She wanted to smile at them, but it was not exactly an opportune moment to be smiling.

She then noticed another figure standing next to them. When she realized it was Kaito, looking more worried than both girls combined, her heart dropped. What on earth was he _doing_ there? Clearly something had happened in the three days she had been down in the well, because the last time she had seen Kaito, he was storming away from her and saying he couldn't bear to be in the same room as her.

There was no time to wonder about why he was there, though. She would have time to worry over that later. A few more minutes passed and Sakura was left to stare at the well, each second passing feeling like an hour. What was taking them so long? Surely it wouldn't take them _that_ long to follow her out and escape through the dimensional tunnel? Just a few more seconds and Sakura was ready to start thinking of the worst case scenarios.

She felt like sinking to her knees and shrieking in relief when she saw the two men emerge from the well, looking relatively unharmed. She moved to run forward but again, Kero stopped her with his large paw, shaking his head and warning her to stay put.

Eriol ran passed her and the elders, to the open area where the battle would resume. Syaoran followed, but stopped when he reached Sakura.

"Syaoran-kun," she said, feeling out of breath. "I want to help – I want to do something – but your elders, they won't let me…"

"It doesn't matter," he answered, taking her shoulders and holding them tightly. "Listen to me Sakura, after I defeat Masaru, I—"

His words caught in his mouth. Was it really the moment for him to tell her the deal he made with the twelve devils? He could only imagine the guilt she would feel. He'd rather she thought that he willingly left her, again, than to have her feel at fault for his decision to lead the clan.

He thought of Kaito, and all the things he could do for her that he couldn't, and the encouragement he had given him just last night about being together with Sakura.

"I just want you to know…" he started, his voice going so low that it Sakura had to lean in to hear him. "Yoshida is a good man. He will take care of you."

Sakura could hardly believe her ears. "Syaoran-kun…?"

He was already gone, jogging to meet Eriol. In the next second, Masaru was bursting through the well, still levitated and a trail of black mist below him. He was looking to his surroundings with his eyes squinted. The bright summer sun was already taking its toll on him, causing him to shield his face with his arms.

"You think you can defeat me out here, where all there is, is light," he grunted, sounding none too pleased. "If you thought you could beat me that easily…"

"I never thought the light would beat you," Syaoran yelled out to him, still on ground level. With another wind spell he shot into the sky, "But I knew I would."

He released a war cry and literally flew to meet Masaru, his Jian sword high above his head and ready to make the first wound.

But Masaru wouldn't be caught off guard. With his own sword that he must have conjured from his dark magic, their two blades met, and soon the two of them were fencing in mid-air. It was clear that both men were at a disadvantage, though. The wind spell was losing strength and wouldn't keep Syaoran in the air for much longer. And Masaru was still struggling to keep the effects of the sunlight from interfering with his sword fighting.

As Sakura watched the two of them high above her, it dawned on her that she _could_ help. At least in some small way, she could help.

"The Fly," she panted, patting herself down and hoping to find her cards somewhere. They had been in her pocket in her previous costume, but since she had changed into the black dress, she hadn't checked if they were in there.

She realized triumphantly that they were still in one of the pockets at her waist, and she pulled The Fly out from the deck, pressing it to her lips.

"Fly," she whispered, "Please lend Syaoran your wings."

She transformed her staff and threw the card into the sky. As soon as it was activated, she watched the white pair of wings that usually grew on her back, sprout from Syaoran's. She smiled, happy that she could at least do that small thing for him.

It nearly threw Syaoran off his game when he felt the wings grow. He had never flew with wings before, so he struggled a little, trying to get them to flap accordingly. Without breaking concentrating, he looked below him to steal a quick glance at Sakura. When he saw her with her staff transformed, he knew that the wings were her doing, and not Eriol's or the elders'.

"Eriol!" he finally exclaimed, knowing that he could never beat him in a sword fight. He was a spirit, after all. All Syaoran was really doing was keeping him busy.

Eriol took his cue and while Masaru was distracted with his sword fighting, hoping to injure Syaoran, he released his own magic and began to hurl it at Masaru in short blasts. Just as Syaoran wanted, he was caught off guard and Eriol never relented, sending blast after magical blast so slowly but surely, Masaru was brought closer and closer back to the ground.

Syaoran backed off a little to avoid the red blasts and was glad he was starting to get used to the wings on his back. Slowly but surely Masaru was brought to the ground. He had taken quite a beating and had resorted to shielding himself completely with his black cloak, though it didn't help at all. He crouched with his arms still out, uselessly defending him from the sunlight and Eriol's magic.

Syaoran flew to Eriol and landed next to him, watching as they brought Masaru to his knees. Eriol ceased with the magical blasts of energy when they were sure they had made Masaru weak enough. He was trembling slightly, clearly not at his strongest and was on the verge of defeat. With one brief nod to one another, Eriol and Syaoran knew that it was time to finish the job.

"She won't be yours," Masaru heaved, lowering his arm and revealing his pale face. His eyes were as black and as angry as ever. "She'll never be yours."

"She won't be yours, either," Syaoran said.

Masaru continued to glare up at the two men, then looked to his side. Syaoran followed his line of vision and saw that he had spotted Sakura just a few feet away, watching with her hands covering her mouth as she watched the exchange.

Syaoran reacted too late. Not even Kero or Eriol could act soon enough to stop Masaru. All he had to do was reach with his arm in her direction and a black stream of his dark magic stretched out and coiled itself around her waist. Sakura screamed and was pulled instantly towards him. In the distance, everyone could hear Meiling and Tomoyo cry out and especially Kaito, who was no doubt the most distressed.

The ribbon-like magic remained around her waist as Masaru held her in front of him and straightened slowly. He came up directly behind her and looked down at her neck and at her face. Writhing and fighting uselessly against his magic, Sakura squirmed away from him. Even though he couldn't possibly touch her, she could swear that she felt his breath on her skin.

Syaoran took a step forward; angered by the way he looked at Sakura's exposed flesh so longingly.

"Let go of her," he said, his voice low and threatening. "_Now_."

"I'm taking her with me," Masaru said, his voice sounding hysterical. "Where she can be with me forever."

"You're not going back to your dimension, Masaru," Eriol answered. "The well has been sealed by Clow's elder descendants. You're never going back there. Your spirit is leaving this world _today_."

"I don't doubt it," Masaru replied, confusing both Syaoran and Eriol. "My spirit will leave this world today and move to another. As will _hers_."

Another black ribbon slithered its way in front of Sakura, slowly wrapping itself around her neck.

"This way…" Masaru said, watching as the black magic wound itself over and over around her flesh. "We'll be together… forever."

Syaoran's face took on a look of pure horror when he realized what Masaru's last resort was.

"No," he breathed, taking another step forward and reaching out with his arm. "No – _no_! You can't! LET GO OF HER!"

"S-Syaoran-kun…" Sakura began, as the ribbon began to pull slowly on one end. She tried to keep calm, knowing that Syaoran and Eriol would surely find some way out of this. The ribbon wasn't even cutting off her breathing – it was just causing her a lot of discomfort.

"We're going to be together," Masaru said happily, continuing to stare at Sakura's face. "Won't that make you happy, flower?" Sakura didn't answer, only continued to squirm away from him and scrape at the ribbon around her neck. "Flower?" Masaru prompted.

"She can't answer you because you're choking her!" Syaoran yelled, full of rage.

Masaru ignored him and only continued to look lovingly into Sakura's face. "We're going to be so happy together, Soo Yung."

Syaoran could see Sakura's eyes clouded with confusion. Did he just call her _Soo Yung_?

Finally it dawned on him that it wasn't Sakura that Masaru was in love with. After all these years of waiting to exact revenge upon Clow, Sakura was just the first girl he came across with magic like Madoushi – and that alone was enough to make him fall in love with her.

Suddenly Syaoran remembered his original plan from two nights previous. The way he had wanted to beat Masaru was to take Sakura's approach to things. Not with violence or anger, but with understand and compassion. If anyone could talk Masaru out of what he was about to do and into surrendering, who better but Syaoran? He, after all, could relate to him best.

"Stop – _stop_!" Syaoran pressed, his face growing more distressed when Sakura's face changed. Had the choking already begun? "Masaru – listen to me. You have to _listen to me_."

"I can't take this anymore, Syaoran," Eriol said under his breath. "I'm not going to stand here and try to talk the guy off the ledge – he's a psycho! I don't care anymore if I happen to hurt Sakura-san in the process of taking this guy down – at least she won't be dead!"

"Just let me give this a try, Eriol," Syaoran answered, not even believing the own words that came out of his mouth. If he foresaw this situation a week ago, he would have bet on Eriol being the calm and rational one that wanted to talk things out, and him being the one to beg for action.

"Syaoran!" Eriol exclaimed, "Are you crazy? He's going to _kill Sakura-san_!"

"_No_," Syaoran said loudly, to both Eriol and Masaru. "No… he's not going to kill her. Masaru – are you listening to me? You have to understand… Sakura is _not Soo Yung_. She isn't the one you want. Look at her… please, just look at her. Look at her face – you're hurting her."

Almost as if he were afraid, Masaru looked away from Syaoran, did as he was asked and looked into Sakura's face. She stared back at him with questions fear in her emerald eyes.

"I only…" he started, and Syaoran could sense the doubt in his voice. Perhaps his crazy plan was starting to work, and he was getting the evil spirit to second guess himself. "I only want to be with her… this is the only way. Soo Yung—"

"_Look at her_," Syaoran said again, this time more forcefully. "Really, _look_ at her. She isn't Soo Yung! She isn't your flower – she's someone else's. I know more than anyone what you're going through right now, and I'm asking you from one man to another… stop this, please."

"But…" Masaru whispered, and Syaoran could see in his face that he struck a nerve when he confronted him with the fact that she wasn't Madoushi. "She would have me… she was kind to me, when – when Soo Yung would not. Soo Yung ch-chose C-Clow over m-me. And I don't – I don't – I can't… be… without her…"

No one was more surprised than Syaoran that Masaru had begun to weep. What was even _more_ surprising was that Syaoran's amber eyes were also beginning to well. It was a topic that hit very close to him as well. He just hoped that Sakura's vision was too blurry with her own tears to see his.

"She chose another man," Syaoran said, willing his voice to remain strong. "She was happy with someone else. And isn't that your happiness, too? Soo Yung's happiness was _your_happiness."

Masaru's tears were flowing freely down his pale face. "She w-was… she was m-my… flower…"

"You loved to see her happy, didn't you?" Syaoran asked.

Masaru nodded.

"Clow made her happy."

Suddenly, the ribbons disappeared altogether; the one around Sakura's waist and the one around her neck. Immediately she ran forward, literally slamming into Syaoran's waiting arms. He passed her off to Eriol, who held her safely, as Syaoran looked down at Masaru who had once again sunk to the ground on his knees, weeping silently.

"She chose another man," Syaoran said again but wanted to comfort him, "but you'll be okay."

"I… I loved Soo Yung… so much."

"She loved you too," Syaoran assured him, then repeated, "And even though she chose another man… you'll be okay."

Masaru's body was starting to fade. Finally he had given up – or at least decided to move on.

Other parts of him were beginning to fade into the ground as he laid there, wet streaks still upon his white face. Smiling and laughing a little bitterly, he looked up at Syaoran and asked, "Are you speaking from experience?"

Syaoran lowered his gaze and spoke under his breath. "Yeah," he answered. "I think I am."

He watched as the last of Masaru disappeared. Soon all there was left was his shadow print on the ground, which eventually faded as well.

Syaoran was still looking down at the spot where Masaru's body had laid when he heard the elder's speak.

"Xiao-lang."

He sighed, closing his eyes and remembering the promise he made, just with the simple call of his name. Rising, he closed his hands into fists and turned, making eye contact with the elder who had called him. He didn't even realize it, but everyone had gathered around him. Even Kaito and Jia had assembled with the rest of the group.

They were all staring at him.

"Come along, Xiao-lang."

He nodded, stepping forward to follow them. He brushed past Sakura, hoping to get by her without a word being spoken to her – if he even so much said a word to her, it would make things that much more difficult for him.

"Syaoran-kun," she said, when he stepped by her but did not say anything. He stopped and looked at her. And although he was staring quite intently, he didn't even notice that the sleek, revealing black dress she was wearing had also faded, only to be replaced by her original costume.

There were only three words he wanted to say to her, three words that he had wanted to get off his chest since ten years ago. And by God, he would get to say them to her, just so she could know the truth. And one day when she would be happily married to Kaito and with children, she would think of the three words he said to her on this day and come to realize that truth: that he never wanted to end things with her all those years ago. And that he would have fought for her until she told him not to anymore, if only the elders did not make him swear to leave her again.

He opened his mouth to tell her he loved her. And the moment the elders saw him open his mouth, they opened theirs to interrupt.

"Xiao-lang," they said again. "It is time."

He sighed. Slowly he removed his cloak and threw it over her shoulders. If he couldn't get to tell her he loved her, he could at least give her something to remember their journey together.

He searched for Kaito to make sure of one last thing before he left. When he made eye contact with him, he was standing next to Jia and staring right back at him. The two gave each other curt nods in understanding. He knew Kaito was going back with Sakura after this. And that was all he needed to know to be sure of Sakura's happy, normal life.

He started to follow the elders out of the lot, Eriol and Tomoyo staring sadly at his retreating back. He knew that Jia and his mother were also watching him leave with the elders, similar looks of sadness that matched with Eriol's and Tomoyo's probably on their faces. Hell, he would have bet his bottom dollar that Kero was even sad to see him go.

The only face he didn't want to imagine was Sakura's. Was she also watching him leave, maybe wondering why he never said anything to her before going? Maybe she was thinking it didn't matter that he didn't say anything to her – surely she would get to talk to Syaoran later that day, right? She was the only person among the group that didn't know that he was walking away from her for good.

Syaoran couldn't help but smile bitterly. At least he had accomplished what he had set out to do. All of his loved ones were behind him, like he had wanted. And although the sun was still high above his head, somehow he still felt like he was walking straight into darkness.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** Happy belated New Year's?

Please don't hate me, because I still love all of you!

Thank you to the kind reviewer who knocked some sense into me and got me out of hibernation! I was gently reminded that it is the NEW YEAR! And you lovely readers of mine most definitely deserved a new chapter in the New Year. I couldn't bear it, knowing that I hadn't updated the story since LAST YEAR. Oh, how awful of me! I apologize times a million.

I also apologize for not getting the last couple of chapters published in a timely fashion. This story is extremely near completion and yet I know it will take me a while to finish the chapters that will end it off. So apologies in advance, and I will be giving more apologies as soon as those chapters are published.

Again, please don't hate me! Because I think you guys are just plain wonderful.

And as per usual, please don't forget to scribble me a review if you happened to read some of my story!

I hope everyone enjoyed their December and is liking their January so far!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD


	16. Coming to Terms

**Agent08 Reporting for Duty!**

Now… on with chapter sixteen!

**Casting Shadows**

_Coming to Terms_

Syaoran entered the car without a word or a look to his elders. They stood, huddling around him as if wanting to make dead sure that he was getting into the vehicle and not running back to Sakura. Grabbing the door handle, he started to pull it closed.

"Xiao-lang," one of the elders started, before he could slam it in their faces. He gave them a stare that was full of irritation and resignation. "You're making the right choice. Trust us."

He wanted to snort, but didn't.

"We will see you back at headquarters."

He nodded and was finally left alone in the quiet of the car. It began to inch slowly forward as Syaoran thought about all that had just happened. He pulled out a victory for the Li clan and defeated a powerful sorcerer that was once Clow's nemesis. He was also able to rescue the girl he loved from his evil clutches. And, ironically, he had just left said girl with another man that loved her just as much.

He hadn't looked back since walking away from her and the rest of the group, but was tempted to do so as the car began to pick up the pace. He just _had_ to get one last look at Sakura – it would be the last time he saw her for another long time. The car windows were tinted, anyway. She'd never be able to see through it and realize that he was looking back at her.

Just before the car zoomed away, he looked up almost hesitantly, craning his head slightly to see her past the faces of his other friends. He neither smiled nor frowned when he saw that she was exactly how he had left her only moments ago – in the hands of another man.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Where is he going?" Sakura asked, trying but failing to slip out of Kaito's hold as he held her at arm's length.

"Sakura," Kaito started, apparently not hearing her question and trying to keep a hold of her, "are you all right?"

Again, Sakura was reminded of the fact that all of her secrets were revealed to Kaito, and not by her doing. His presence alone was a reminder of that. But at the moment, it was the least of her concerns. Syaoran had left her without a word, despite everything that had just happened. Watching him go, it was something she had witnessed before, and what happened moments ago felt all too familiar.

"He's coming back, isn't he?" she asked Tomoyo, who was looking at her nervously.

"Of course," Tomoyo lied quickly, coming to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be back."

"Definitely," Meiling said, putting her hand on Sakura's other shoulder.

Eriol stepped forward as well, putting a hand on her back. "He had important business to attend to, Sakura-san."

Suddenly there were far too many hands on her than were necessary, and not a single one of them was Syaoran's. His touch, she felt, was the only one that could assure her at the moment.

Squirming to get all of them off of her, Sakura turned and started to jog in the direction of the car he just entered, and realized too late that it was already gone. Frowning, she looked back at her fiancé, two best friends, and her faithful guardian. They looked at her with anxious eyes and stood with uneasy postures.

"What's wrong, everybody?"

"Nothing," Tomoyo insisted, joining her and giving her best friend a hug. "We were all just so worried about you, Sakura-chan. It was an awful three days without you. We're so glad you're okay."

Tomoyo's comforting embrace was enough to melt away her troubles – if only for just a little while. She returned the hug and patted her back, telling her, "I knew you guys would be back for me. Thank you so much, everybody."

Eriol, Kaito and Meiling joined the two girls while Kero floated not too far behind, once again in his smaller guise.

Instead of holding her again, Kaito waited patiently for Sakura to step out of the hug. When she did, she faced him, trying to smile but was much too afraid of the conversation that awaited the both of them to do so.

"Can I take you home?" he asked quietly, offering up his arm with some hesitation.

His timid offer was enough to get at least a small smile out of her. She took it gingerly and allowed herself to be walked back to his car. She looked back and saw Kero sitting on Meiling's shoulder, and Eriol and Tomoyo following right behind them. His arm was around her waist and her head was against his shoulder.

Pursing her lips, she frowned and wondered why they looked happier than she and Kaito did, when it was them that were engaged, not the other way around. But the answer was obvious: she had been lying to him about Syaoran and her magic, and both were made known to him by other people. She had a _lot_ of explaining to do.

Wordlessly she got into the car when Kaito opened the door for her. When she was seated, he closed the door and walked over to the other side. Sakura was granted only a few precious seconds to think of something to say to him that would somehow make up for all her selfish, careless, and hurtful behavior.

She watched her fiancé start the car and begin to make his way out of the driveway. His arms and face were tense, not looking at her though her gaze upon him was obvious.

The ride from his lot to Eriol's house was only around fifteen minutes – twenty, if they were faced with traffic on the main street. But the first two minutes of the way back was already starting to feel like an hour.

Sakura knew it fell on her to start talking first. After all that she had done to him, it was the least she could do to start the conversation.

Biting her lip, she began quietly, "Kaito-kun…"

She noticed his grip on the steering wheel tighten. He didn't say anything.

"I don't know what happened while I was in that well… all I know is that I still have some apologizing to do, about the last time we talked. And even more after that about… well… this," she said, smiling meekly and fingering the tiny staff that hung from her necklace.

He glanced at it briefly but returned his eyes to the road.

"Kaito-kun, I'm so sorry about—"

"Sakura," he said, cutting her off. He sounded rather firm. "Let me get you home and in bed. It can wait. Honestly."

"But you deserve to hear the truth," she insisted almost incredulously. She couldn't believe that he was actually putting this conversation off. She would have thought that he'd be impatient for this moment. Didn't he want to yell at her, scream at her, or break up with her?

"You need rest," he said. "And God knows I could use some sleep, too."

"Okay," she agreed slowly. "You're right. I didn't realize how tired I actually am…" She stifled a yawn and rubbed at her eyes. "Can you wake me up when we get to Eriol-kun's?"

"Sure," said Kaito. "Just sleep now, Sakura."

She was only too happy to oblige. Shifting into a comfortable sitting position, Sakura closed her heavy eyes and nestled her head into the head rest. It wasn't long before she was sound asleep, with Syaoran's maroon cloak covering her like a security blanket, warding off her bad dreams.

_**xxxxxx**_

When she woke up, the car ride was long over. She was back in her guest bedroom of Eriol's summer home, Syaoran's cloak now strewn over a chair and a thick, fluffy blanket around her shoulders. The room was quiet, and all that was left of the day's sunlight was pouring through the white curtains that hung from the window.

Suddenly she was unsure of herself. Where was everybody? Her best guess was downstairs, where they were all probably chatting over tea and cake, or having a light snack before dinner. Standing slowly, she put Syaoran's cloak around her shoulders once more. She told herself it was only to use as a robe, since Tomoyo had changed her into pajamas. She pushed away the thought that it was just to have him near.

She tiptoed out of her room and crept quietly down the stairs. She heard voices come from the lounge. It was just as she had suspected – there they sat, talking and enjoying tea, cookies and cake, though of course Kero was doing most of the eating for everybody. Meiling, Tomoyo, and Eriol were going on over whatever topic, and even Kaito sat with them, though he seemed rather stoic.

But Syaoran' wasn't there.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. But hours earlier back at the lot, they had told her he would be back. So why wasn't he?

Instead of joining her friends, she went back up the stairs without letting them know she had even woken. As soon as she had re-entered her room, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it, taking in a deep breath. She wasn't hiding, but it certainly felt like that that was what she was doing.

Across the room on a bedside table, Sakura spotted the telephone. Slowly, as if it would sprout legs and start chasing after her, she approached the phone and eyed it for a few moments. She picked up the receiver and began to dial, not knowing what on earth she was even doing. For some strange, aching reason, she had to hear the sound of his voice.

She twirled the cord of the phone around her index finger, holding her breath and biting her lip. The other end began to ring as her anxiety began to catch up with her.

Abruptly, the call was answered with Syaoran's rich, velvety voice. "Eriol?"

At first Sakura wondered why he would answer with his name, but soon realized it was because she was using his phone. His caller ID probably read "Hiiragizawa Residence" on it or something.

"Syaoran-kun," she began quickly, now suddenly in a rush to get all these words out of her, even though she wasn't sure of what she even wanted to say.

There was silence on the other end. Perhaps he hadn't heard her – maybe he was just caught off guard. He did, after all, expect to hear Eriol's voice and not hers.

Ploughing onwards, she said, "We're all here now at Eriol-kun's. I just woke up from my nap. Where did you go earlier, Syaoran-kun? You just disappeared, and I—"

She paused, not knowing where she was going with all of this. "I was just…" she started unsurely, the cord now cutting off the blood circulation in her poor finger. "I mean you just… you never even… you didn't even say goodbye."

She didn't hear him say anything else, but she certainly didn't hear him hang up, either. She could still hear his breathing on the other end of the line.

"Syaoran-kun?" she asked, wondering why on earth he wasn't responding to her. "Syaoran-kun—"

A knock was heard at the door, along with the call of her name. "Sakura?"

Her head turned at the sound of it but soon returned her attention to the phone. Just as she was about to ask him to hold on while she took care of whoever it was the door, she heard him hang up.

Kaito walked in with a small tray in his hands. There were a few sandwiches on it and a glass of Sakura's favourite juice. He closed the door behind him and looked at her curiously.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked, as she too hung up and turned to face him.

"I was—" she began, wanting to tell him it was someone like her brother, who she hadn't spoken to in several days. It would just be another lie, though, and she knew that there just couldn't be any lies between them anymore. "I was on the phone with Syaoran-kun."

He froze for a second, but moved to put the tray on the dresser. "What did he say?" he asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"Nothing," she said truthfully. "He said nothing."

Kaito took a seat on the bed while Sakura sat in the chair that originally had Syaoran's cloak thrown over it. "Why did you call him?"

Sakura wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. So, to the best of her abilities and without lying, she answered, "I wanted to ask him why he left without a word earlier today."

He put his hands together in front of him and looked down in his lap. Sakura watched him carefully, knowing there was something he wanted to say. He looked up at her through his thick lashes, his mouth a thin straight line before he started to speak.

"Sakura, Li-kun isn't coming back."

She giggled, shaking her head. "Of course he's coming back," she laughed, thinking Kaito's statement more funny than serious. "We'll probably all leave to go back to Japan together."

Kaito was shaking his head as well. "No, Sakura, I don't think so. Li-kun won't be coming back to Japan with us."

She raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, Kaito looked up from his lap and met Sakura's confused eyes. "Li-kun has been re-established as the rightful heir to the Li clan. He'll be their leader this time for sure. The preparations for some grand ceremony are already underway. I imagine that must have been why he was ready to leave us today."

Sakura wanted to gasp but couldn't do more than open her mouth and gape.

"When did he… when did this – when did this happen?" she spluttered, not knowing which question out of the hundred that suddenly popped into her head to ask first.

Kaito shrugged. "I really don't know, Sakura. He came to see me while you were under that well and told me he'd be returning to the clan. He didn't elaborate except for the things I just told you."

"What else did he tell you?"

Kaito opened his mouth slowly, as if considering his words. There were several other things that Syaoran told him the night he came by his apartment, and although he didn't mind sharing any of those details with Sakura, he knew that Syaoran would prefer it if he didn't tell her everything they talked about.

"Not much else," he said quietly.

Sakura seemed distressed. Her eyes were disbelieving and her mouth was hanging slightly open.

"Are you okay?" Kaito asked in concern.

Sakura looked up at him and nodded quickly. "Can you give me a minute?" she asked. "I think I just need a little while to… process."

Kaito obliged happily, standing and walking over to the door. "Of course, you must still want to rest, anyway. I'll be back in a little while, and we can… talk."

The look on Sakura's face softened. She nodded.

He opened the door and looked back at her, giving her a brief, small smile and soon exited. Sakura waited until the sound of his footsteps disappeared from the hall. Swiftly she made her way over to the phone once more and held it tightly in her hands, staring at it for a moment before dialling Syaoran's number again.

It rang only a few times before she heard the sound of his voice mail.

"_This is Li Syaoran. Sorry I can't take your call. Please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as is convenient. Thank you._"

She hung up before the beep could sound sighed. She hesitated momentarily before deciding to re-dial. She waited as it once again continued to ring for only an unusually short time.

"_This is Li Syaoran. Sorry I can't take your call. Please leave your name and number_—"

Sakura pressed down on the receiver once more to hang up and this time without hesitation re-dialled once more.

"_This is Li Syaoran. Sorry I can't take your call. Please_—"

Sakura was very tempted to hang up once more, but decided to let the voice mail finish. When it did, the words escaped her mouth before she could even think about them. "Syaoran-kun, it's Sakura, please answer. Just call me back or answer. I won't stop calling for you. Please pick up."

She hung up and continued to do as she said she would. She had honestly lost count of how many times she dialled his number.

It had to have been at least six or seven times before she heard something other than his voice mail. It caught her so off guard she had nearly hung up only to re-dial once more, since she was so used to doing it. Luckily she stopped herself in time, and she was able to hear the silence on the other end of the phone. The same silence from her previous phone conversation with Syaoran.

She breathed into the receiver, wanting this time to think about her words.

"Kaito-kun just told me the news," she said quietly. "Is it true, Syaoran-kun? You're going to be the new leader of the Li clan?"

She knew it was stupid to wait for an answer, but she did anyway. He wasn't going even going to give her a simple yes or no, and she knew it.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked. When she was still met with silence, she sighed and smiled bitterly to herself. "No, I guess not, then. Syaoran-kun, why won't you talk to me? What is going on? Did I do something wrong? Are you mad? What is it, please just _tell_ me. Say something – anything!"

She waited once more for an answer. And this time, she decided, she really wouldn't speak unless he said something to her first.

It seemed like an eternity before he said anything.

"I'm sorry."

The other line went dead before she could respond – not that she had planned to. If he didn't hang up first, she would have.

And this time she wasn't going to call him back.

_**xxxxxx**_

Sakura wondered how long exactly Kaito had waited for her to come out of her room. She had been sitting there, thinking the day away. Although, since making all those phone calls to Syaoran and receiving the same words she'd heard from him all summer, a measly "I'm sorry", there shouldn't have been any thinking for her to do. She should have been done with Syaoran. As easily as he could leave her so many times, it should have been just the same for her.

But her thought process was slow – as was her anger. She didn't feel any of it – she just couldn't bring herself to hate or be angry with him. If anything she felt sad for the both of them. No matter what they did, they just couldn't seem to get it right, not even after ten years apart when they had all the time in the world to get their acts together.

It was past dinner time when she decided that it was time to talk to Kaito. She had certainly kept him waiting long enough. And there was just no denying that the conversation they were about to have had been waiting even longer. It had been in the making ever since Syaoran showed up at her doorstep.

The gang was as she had left them earlier: In the parlour, probably after having eaten their dinner, and unwinding with conversation, more tea and more cake. She thanked the heavens that they could still get along without her or Syaoran. The two of them, three of them including Kaito, had certainly put a damper on their trip together. She would have to apologize for it immensely once she got this conversation out of the way.

She peered into the room, still dressed into the pajamas Tomoyo must have changed her into, and tapped lightly on the door frame of the parlour. Everyone looked up to glance at her. Even Kero had taken a pause from stuffing his face with biscuits.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said in a soft tone of surprise. "You're up – I'm so glad!"

"You look well rested," Eriol added, sounding pleased.

"Sorry you had to miss dinner," Meiling chimed.

Sakura smiled at all of her friends, glad that she could be welcomed so warmly. It gave her a bit of courage for what was to come. "It's all right about dinner," she answered. "I had some sandwiches brought up to my room earlier…" she looked down for a moment to peer up through her eyelashes at Kaito. He was watching her intently. "I actually came down here to borrow Kaito for a little while."

Kaito's gaze at her magnified, and it was then that he knew that it was time for "the talk". Tomoyo, Eriol, and Meiling all looked to each other and were almost immediately on their feet.

"Oh, sure!" Tomoyo said, standing and walking over to Sakura. "We'll just get out of your way."

Sakura frowned. "No, no – none of you are in the way. You guys don't have to leave the room, he and I could just…"

"Nonsense," Eriol assured, "we should be getting ready for bed, anyway."

Sakura stared at him. "But it's still early…"

"Yeah, well…" Tomoyo started slowly, "we've been in these clothes all day! We'll just get changed into comfier clothes."

"Yeah, and I—" Meiling began, "I'll – I'm going to help Daidouji pick something to wear!" She looked back at Kero who was still seated, throwing sweets into his mouth. She gestured to him with a throw of her head.

"What?" he asked, mouth full. "They said we didn't have to leave the room!"

Meiling's face turned hard, as did with her smile. Tightly she insisted, "There are more sweets in the kitchen for you, plush toy."

Sensing the warning in her voice, Kero pouted and rose up into the air. "Well gee, since you asked me so nicely…"

The four of them shuffled out of the room together, Tomoyo giving Sakura a meaningful look as she exited. What meaning, however, Sakura was not sure.

It was silent for a good thirty seconds before Kaito moved to stand up.

"No, no, don't stand. I'll sit," Sakura told him, taking the seat opposite. Slowly Kaito sat back down again and kept his hands in his lap. He looked at her fixedly, waiting for her to begin again.

"I don't…" Sakura started slowly, feeling scared and nervous and insecure all at once. "I don't know where to start." She looked down at her chest, unable to take his penetrating gaze at her anymore. Her eyes met the pink miniature staff that hung from her necklace, no longer hidden underneath her shirt. Below it she could feel the hard thumping of her rapidly beating heart.

"I'm sorry about Syaoran-kun," she said quietly, forcing herself not to cry. Just the thought of how she had lied to him made her feel awful. "I should have been honest with you about him from the very beginning. You had every right to be upset with me, especially finding out the way you did. I understand if it takes time for you to forgive me."

Kaito put a hand over his face and sighed. "Sakura…"

"No, Kaito-kun, please. Just let me say this. I'm… I'm also sorry… for not telling you about my magic."

He removed the hand he had over his eyes and looked at her straight on. She almost wished he had kept them covered.

"My magic is the biggest part of my life. It's part of who I am, ever since I was a little girl, and I – I never doubted that I could trust you with this secret, Kaito-kun. I knew that you were someone worthy to share it with. But I was just afraid of how you'd react, what'd you think of me…"

"What I think of you?" Kaito asked incredulously, "Sakura, I—"

"Wait," she begged, holding up a hand, "please, don't say anything just yet. I'm almost done, I promise."

His jaw was still hanging down, but just one glance at the look of desperation on Sakura's face was enough to have him do as she asked.

"And I just want to say… you deserve better than what I've been to you the last few weeks. I know it more than anyone. But I think you should know that I'm willing to handle everything. I'll tell all the companies we've contacted, I'll cancel the order for the invitations we picked, I'll cancel the fitting appointment you had at the tailor's, and I—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Kaito interrupted, waving his hands in the air and looking confused. "Hit the brakes. What are you talking about?"

Sakura blinked once, mirroring the look of confusion on his face.

"Sakura," he said gently, "I still want to marry you."

She gaped at him for a few moments as she began to seriously doubt her ability of hearing.

"Hoe… you… you _do_?"

"Of course I do!" he said, a hint of a smile on his face. Sakura's eyebrows rose as she challenged the certainty of his claim. The faint smile remained on his face as he shrugged and explained, "Okay, well… I wasn't sure if I wanted to after everything that had happened. When I saw you with Li-kun, and then found out about your history with him…"

Sakura squirmed guiltily in her seat.

He smile grew sad. "I was ready to cancel the wedding, Sakura. I really was. But then Li-kun told me about that spirit in the well, keeping you hostage, and I… I lost it. I couldn't sleep knowing you weren't safe. I couldn't eat; I could barely get through an hour. I realized I wanted to be with you, then. That in spite of everything, I still wanted you in my life."

Sakura's eyes were misty with tears. She sniffled in embarrassment, fanning at her face to somehow make the crying stop.

"But," Kaito started, and the single word made Sakura's hear stop in her chest. Of course there was a "but". She wondered what would follow it. "I think the question that we have to deal with is… if you still want me in _your_ life."

Sakura was taken aback by the question. Even a little offended.

"Kaito-kun, of _course_ I want you in my life—!"

"But as what, exactly?" he interjected quickly. Then asked, slower, "As what, Sakura? Your friend? Or your husband?"

She frowned at him, but only because the question stumped her. "My…" she began, but did not know how to finish. "My…"

How on earth was she supposed to decide that? She had never thought that he'd ask her if _she_ still wanted to marry him. She had just assumed that he wouldn't want to be in a relationship with her anymore, so a decision like this would never confront her. And yet there she sat, like an idiot, still without an answer.

"Sakura," Kaito then said softly, "if you're hesitating because of Li-kun… I think you have your answer."

Her head snapped up at the mention of his name, looked at Kaito in the eyes, and noticed at how lovingly he was staring at her. If she didn't marry him because she still had feelings or Syaoran… it wouldn't do her any good. Sure, she'd be staying true to herself and her heart… but then she'd be unhappy that she broke Kaito's heart, and he'd be unhappy without her.

She thought about Syaoran and all the things he had done. When they were younger, he was the best boyfriend on the planet. He took care of her, he spoiled her, he loved her. Kaito was the exact same, almost a replica of Syaoran and the way he carried himself – just more cheerful, of course. She supposed that was what attracted her to him in the first place.

And then she thought about how Kaito still loved and wanted to be with her still, even after all she had put him through.

The answer was so simple. It wasn't about Kaito's money or his status or anything else. She couldn't bring herself to break his heart. How could she, when he had been nothing but good and understanding to her? Syaoran was out of the picture, anyway. He had left her for a third time and she doubted he would ever see him again. And perhaps things were better that way.

Slowly she rose and went around the small coffee table to his side on the couch. She sat next to him, closed the distance between them, and looped her arm under his. She laced her fingers between his and smiled gently.

"Kaito-kun, I would be honoured if you took me as your wife."

His face changed from surprised, to happy, to deliriously happy.

"Really, Sakura?"

She nodded, her smile growing at the sight of his boyish grin. "Really."

He put his arms around her, the first hug he'd given her after what seemed like a very long time. She thought the hug would make her feel lighter – like she had finally thrown this enormous weight off her shoulders. But it didn't feel like that at all. The feeling was still there – if anything she felt a bit heavier. He then smoothed out her hair and planted at kiss at the top of her head. The simple gesture felt like a brick being added to her heavy load.

_**xxxxxx**_

From outside the parlour stood Meiling, Eriol and Tomoyo. They were on either side of the doorframe, trying their best to breathe quietly. Meiling was on the side nearest to the staircase, while Eriol and Meiling were on the side closes to the front door. Sakura should have known that they were going to eavesdrop. The three of them had been dying to know what they'd say ever since she was rescued from the well!

"Well," Tomoyo whispered looking behind her and up at Eriol, "looks like I'm still a maid of honour." She noticed that Eriol's phone was in his hand. He brought to his ear and waited. "Who's that?" she wondered.

Instead of answering, he put the phone in front of his face, confusion clear in his eyes. "That's weird," he muttered, "It didn't even ring. It just went to voice mail."

"Who are you calling?" Tomoyo asked again.

Eriol was on the phone again, appearing to have dialed the number once more. But it was not long before he blinked, his brows furrowing in irritation. "Still a voice mail. That's odd. I'm going to check in on him."

"Li-kun?" Tomoyo said.

Eriol nodded, walking over to the coat rack and putting a light jacket on. He took his car keys from his pocket and said to the two girls, still whisper soft, "Don't let her know where I'm going."

They nodded and soon he was out the door. Whether Syaoran liked it or not, he was going to pay him a visit.

_**xxxxxx**_

Syaoran sat in his study at the Li clan estate, swaying from side to side in his swivel chair. For someone that was soon to become the new leader to one, if not _the_ wealthiest clan in China, he really didn't have much to do. He would've killed for a chore or an assignment at the moment – anything to keep his mind off of the "conversation" he had earlier in the day.

There was a knock at his door and he hesitated to answer. It definitely wasn't anyone that was going to give him something to do – it was clear that all the elders wanted him to do for the rest of that day was to suffer in his loneliness. So if they weren't going to bother him with a task, he would rather not be bothered at all.

When he didn't answer, the knock came louder and more insistently.

"I'm _busy_," he announced, the irritation clear in his voice.

He heard the lock on his door turn and he rolled his eyes. He should have known the elders would use their magic to barge in on him.

"Busy, are you?" Eriol asked, stepping through the door and shutting it closed behind him. "Doing what, exactly? Changing levels on your swivel chair?"

"Eriol," Syaoran said, surprised to see him though it didn't show on his face or in his voice. "What are you doing here?" He watched him take a seat on the other side of his big desk. "I don't need you to check up on me, you know. I already have Meiling for that. And my onee-samas. And my okaa-sama. And now my elders, too," he said bitterly.

"Just thought I'd drop by, in case, you know," he shrugged. "In case they tightened the leash and kept you from seeing me, as well."

"Nope," he said plainly. "Just Sakura."

It pained Eriol to hear the sadness in his voice. Clapping his hands together, he decided it was best to not beat around the bush. "Speaking of which, Syaoran… I just thought you should know, she and Yoshida are going through with the wedding."

Syaoran's head shot up at hearing the bit of news. He wasn't smiling – but he wasn't frowning, either.

"You couldn't tell me this over the phone?" he asked tonelessly, lamely skirting around the new topic of conversation.

"Well, I would have called you, but, I take it from the direct-to-voicemail on your phone that you shut it off."

Syaoran was quiet after that. He had forgotten he'd shut it off after speaking with Sakura.

"Sakura called me from your landline earlier," he admitted, so as to explain why he had turned it off in the first place.

Eriol's brows rose at this. "She did, did she?"

Syaoran nodded. "I thought it was you at first, but it was her instead. I didn't say anything. I just hung up. But then she wouldn't stop calling me until I answered, and…"

When Syaoran trailed off, the wait became too much for Eriol. "And then… what?" he wondered, still trying to sound patient.

"I just told her I was sorry."

Syaoran was staring down at his lap.

Eriol sighed. "Well…" he shook his head sadly. "At least she knows it. And at least she'll have what you wanted for her."

"Yeah," Syaoran said quietly. "I guess."

They were quiet for a moment before Eriol stood. It was obvious there was nothing he could say to Syaoran to comfort or console him, and he knew that there was definitely nothing else Syaoran had to say. He was probably all out of words and out of sorts. He just needed space, and, much as he disliked it, that was exactly what Eriol was going to give him.

Eriol stepped over to the door and opened it, remembering just in time to mention his crowning as the new leader. "Let me know when your ceremony is," he said, before slipping out.

"You're coming?" Syaoran asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Wouldn't miss it. And… the wedding? Will I see you there?"

"They haven't even set a date yet, Eriol."

"But when they do," he asked. "Will you be there?"

Syaoran smirked in spite of himself. "Somehow I think my invitation is going to get lost in the mail."

Eriol rolled his eyes. "I'll give you a call before we leave for Japan."

He walked out the door and left Syaoran in his silence once more. Soon he was back to swaying from side to side in his swivel chair again. But even that activity became too much for him. He had been doing it so often that he actually started to get dizzy. Groaning, Syaoran stood and exited from the study and went straight for his room. Luckily he did not run into anyone on his way. After his little chat with Eriol, there wasn't anyone he particularly felt like talking to.

When he got to his bedroom, he closed the door and reached into his pocket for his phone. He was very tempted to throw it against the wall and let it shatter into a few thousand pieces, but instead flopped onto his bed, arms spread wide and back hitting the soft cushions with a muffled thud. With his phone in one hand, he pressed the button to turn it on.

Without looking at it, he expertly pressed the correct buttons that would take him into his voicemail inbox. With his thumb poised over one button, he shut his eyes and pressed down.

"_Syaoran-kun, it's Sakura, please answer. Just call me back or answer. I won't stop calling for you. Please pick up._" He sighed and let the message play for him again. And then again, and again. He sighed and felt his eyes start to flutter. Her voice asking him to answer her would be his lullaby for the night.

_**xxx.**_

**Author Notes:** Hello everyone! Should I be shielding myself from thrown tomatoes or rocks or pitch forks?

I apologize a million and one times for the long awaited update. I apologize a million times more, just because you guys are so wonderful and there just aren't enough apologies I could give! I know the chapter was short as well, and I hope you guys can forgive me for that! I am wrapping things up, after all. I don't know how long I can make these last couple chapters!

Please let me know how you liked this update. Feel free to also tell me that you hate me for keeping you guys waiting! I deserve it, I know!

School and work are SUCH pains in the butt, however I am still here and still writing! Never for that, my friends!

I hope all of you are doing wonderfully well. I haven't heard from any of you in so long; please let me know how you've been doing in your reviews! I miss you ALL.

And, as usual, please don't forget to leave me a few words in a review to tell me your thoughts!

Until next time, my friends!

Signing off,  
Agent08 – My life as s secret agent xD


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